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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2018  with  funding  from 
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https://archive.org/details/annalsmemoirsofcOOback_O 


ANNALS  &f  MEMOIRS  OF 
THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


Mummy-Statue  at  T’ien-T’ai  ssu,  commonly  held 
to  be  that  of  the  Emperor  Shun  Chih. 

(By  the  courtesy  of  Dr.  Perceval  Yetts.) 


ANNALS  &  MEMOIRS  OF 
THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 

(FROM  THE  16th  TO  THE  20th  CENTURY) 


BY 

E.  BACKHOUSE  and  J.  O.  P.  BLAND 

AUTHORS  OF 

“CHINA  UNDER  THE  EMPRESS  DOWAGER,”  ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 
HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 
I9I4 


Printed  in  England 


THE  GETTY  CENTER 
LfBRAHY 


NOTE 


The  thanks  of  the  authors  are  hereby  gratefully 
expressed  to  Mr.  Charles  L.  Freer,  of  Detroit,  U.S.A., 
for  photographs  of  four  masterpieces  in  his  unrivalled 
collection  of  Chinese  paintings ;  to  Mr.  Laurence 
Binyon  and  to  the  Trustees  of  the  British  Museum 
for  permission  to  reproduce  several  pictures  from  the 
Museum  collection  ;  and  to  Dr.  Perceval  Yetts  for  his 
interesting  photograph  of  the  Mummy-Priest  of  the 
temple  at  T’ien  T’ai-ssu. 


London,  December  1913. 


CONTENTS 


page 

ALPHABETICAL  LIST  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  PERSONS  HEREINAFTER  NAMED  .  i 

INTRODUCTION  .......  ....  9 

Part  I 

THE  MING  DYNASTY 

CHAPTER  I 

A  CHINESE  HAROUN  AL  RASCHID  ........  23 

CHAPTER  II 

AN  INFAMOUS  EUNUCH  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .46 

CHAPTER  III 

LI  TZU-Ch’eNg’s  REBELLION  AND  THE  FALL  OF  PEKING  ...  86 

CHAPTER  IY 

WU  SAN-KUEI . .  .  .  .  .  .118 

CHAPTER  Y 

THE  MANCHU  DYNASTY  ESTABLISHED  .  .  .  .  .  .  .138 

CHAPTER  VI 

THE  MINGS  AT  NANKING  .........  166 

CHAPTER  YII 

THE  SACK  OF  YANG  CHOU-FU  ........  185 

CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  LAST  OF  THE  MINGS  .........  213 


CONTENTS 


Part  II 

THE  MANCHU  DYNASTY 

CHAPTER  IX 

THE  EMPEROR  SHUN  CHIH  ...... 

CHAPTER  X 

k’ang  hsi  as  a  father . 

CHAPTER  XI 

THE  TRIBULATIONS  OF  YUNG  CHENG  .... 

CHAPTER  XII 

YUNG  CHENG  DISPENSES  JUSTICE.  .... 

CHAPTER  XIII 

HIS  MAJESTY  CH’lEN  LUNG  ...... 

CHAPTER  XI Y 

THE  DOWNFALL  OF  HO  SHEN  ..... 

CHAPTER  XV 

CHIA  CH’lNG  :  THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  END 

CHAPTER  XVI 

TAO  KUANG.  THE  IMPACT  OF  THE  WEST 

CHAPTER  XVII 

HSIEN  FENG  AND  t’uNG  CHIH  !  THE  FACILE  DESCENT  . 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE  SORROWS  OF  HIS  MAJESTY  KUANG  HSU  . 

CHAPTER  XIX 

MEMOIRS  OF  THE  BOXER  YEAR  (1900)  .... 

CHAPTER  XX 

CONCERNING  THE  OLD  BUDDHA  ..... 

CHAPTER  XXI 

THE  COURT  UNDER  THE  LAST  REGENCY 

CONCLUSION . 

INDEX  ......... 

viii 


229 

239 

269 

289 

310 

347 

372 

390 

405 

429 

442 

466 

493 

513 

523 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


To  face  po,<je 

MUMMY-STATUE  AT  t’iEN-t’aI  SSU,  COMMONLY  HELD  TO  BE  THAT  OF  THE 
emperor  shun  CHiH  ......  Frontispiece 

PORTRAIT  OF  A  CHINESE  OFFICIAL.  BY  WU  TAO-TZU  (EIGHTH  CENTURY)  24- 

RUINS  OF  THE  “  SHRINE  OF  THE  MOST  HIGH  ”  AT  THE  SHENG  WU  GATE,  NEAR 

THE  COAL  HILL  ..........  44 

SCENES  OF  COURT  LIFE  :  PREPARING  TEA  FOR  HIS  MAJESTY  ...  60 

SCENES  OF  COURT  LIFE.  BY  CHIU  YING  (FIFTEENTH  CENTURY)  .  .  84 

THE  IMPERIAL  PAVILION  NEAR  THE  COAL  HILL,  WHERE  THE  LAST  MING 

EMPEROR  HANGED  HIMSELF  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .104 

SCENE  FROM  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  COURT  .  .  .  .  .  .  .120 

SCENES  OF  COURT  LIFE:  LADIES  OF  THE  PALACE  .....  150 

A  BANQUET  GIVEN  TO  THE  OFFICERS  OF  THE  ARMY  AT  THE  “  HALL  OF  PURPLE 

LIGHT”  IN  THE  LAKE  PALACE  ENCLOSURE  .  .  .  .  .170 

KUNG  SHUN,  A  MANDARIN  OF  THE  nAN  DYNASTY  .  .  .  .  .190 

A  WAR  JUNK  AT  THE  TIME  OF  LORD  MACARTNEY’S  MISSION  .  .  .210 

AN  IMPERIAL  JOURNEY  UNDER  THE  SUNG  DYNASTY  ....  230 

KUNG  KWANG,  GRANDSON  OF  KUNG  SHUN  ......  260 

PANORAMIC  VIEW  OF  THE  FORBIDDEN  CITY  AND  THE  IMPERIAL  CITY  FROM 

THE  COAL  HILL  ..........  286 

PORTRAIT  OF  HIS  MAJESTY  CH’lEN  LUNG  ......  310 

LORD  MACARTNEY’S  EMBASSY  AT  A  HAUL-OVER  ON  THE  TUNGCHOU  CANAL  .  334 

SUBMISSION  OF  THE  TUNGUS  TRIBES  .  .  .  .  .  .  .376 

THE  CAMP  AT  ALCHUR  .........  392 

THE  RETURN  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.  THE  PRINCESS  IMPERIAL’S  SEDAN  .  420 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


To  fas'  pan'. 

THE  RETURN  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.  INSIGNIA  BEARERS  FOLLOWING  THE 

REARGUARD.  PEKING,  JANUARY  7,  1902  .....  444 

LADIES  OF  THE  COURT  WORKING  AT  EMBROIDERY  .....  470 

THE  RETURN  OF  THE  COURT  FROM  EXILE.  HEAD  OF  THE  IMPERIAL 

PROCESSION.  PEKING,  JANUARY  7,  1902  .....  486 

THE  RETURN  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.  THE  SEDAN  CHAIR  OF  HIS  MAJESTY 

KUANG  HSU.  PEKING,  JANUARY  7,  1902  .....  502 

MARBLE  BRIDGE  IN  THE  IMPERIAL  PALACE,  AT  THE  TIME  OF  THE  OCCUPATION 

BY  THE  ALLIES  IN  1900  ........  510 

THE  EASTERN  ENTRANCE  TO  THE  LAKE  PALACE,  AFTER  THE  FLIGHT  OF  THE 

COURT  IN  1900  ..........  520 


X 


ERRATA 


p.  76,  1.  33,  for  His  read  Hsi. 

p.  94,  1.  32,  for  him  read  the  Emperor. 

p.  Ill,  1.  14 ,for  4th  read  3rd. 

p.  180,  1.  10,  for  prestiges  read  auguries. 

p.  208,  1.  8,  for  25th  of  the  5th  to  the  5th  of 
the  4th  read  25th  of  the  4th  to  the  5th 
of  the  5th. 

p.  240,  1.  9,  for  Visdelon  read  Visdelou. 
p.  256,  1.  4,  for  T’ui  ho  read  T’ai  ho. 
p.  256,  1.  34,  for  Khorchia  read  Khorchin. 


ALPHABETICAL  LIST  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL 
PERSONS  HEREINAFTER  NAMED 


Abtai,  cider  brother  of  Emperor  T’ai  Tsung. 

An  Te-hai,  Tzh  Ilsi’s  favourite  eunuch  during  the  first  Regency. 

Ao  Pai,  regent  during  K’ang  Hsi’s  minority. 

Ao  Pao,  Grand  Secretary  under  Ch’ien  Lung. 

BoRjuax,  Mongol  consort  of  Shunchih  and  Empress  Dowager  of 
K’ang  Hsi. 


Chang  Chiii-tung,  scholar  and  statesman  of  Kuang  Hsu’s  reign. 
Chang  Chiii-wan,  Grand  Councillor  in  Kuang  Hsii’s  reign. 

Ch’ang  Fu,  son  of  Emperor  Wan  Li;  Prince  of  Kueiyang. 

Chang  Hsien-chung,  Li  Tzu-ch’eng’s  chief  rebel  colleague. 

Ch’ang  Hsun,  Prince  Fu,  son  of  Wan  Li,  slain  by  Li  Tzu-ch’eng. 
Chang  Kuo-chi,  adopted  father  of  Hsi  Tsung’s  Empress. 

Ch’ang  Lo,  or  Kuang  Tsung,  son  of  Wan  Li,  reigned  one  month. 
Chang  Pei-lun,  one  of  the  “  Puritans,”  under  Tzii  Hsi;  son-in-law  to 
Li  Hung-chang. 

Chang  T’ing-yu,  1670-1756,  great  scholar  under  Ch’ien  Lung. 

Chang  Yin-iiuan,  friend  of  Kuang  Hsii,  banished  by  Tzii  Hsi  in 
1898,  and  executed  by  Prince  Tuan’s  order  in  1900. 

Ciiang  Yuan-ftj,  eunuch  favourite  of  Lung  Yii,  commonly  called  Hsiao 
Chang.  He  is  believed  to  have  stolen  her  pearl  shoes  before  the 
breath  was  out  of  her  body. 

Chao  Ch’i-lin,  a  famous  censor  under  Tzu  Hsi. 

Chao  Shu-ch’iao,  allowed  to  commit  suicide  in  1900  for  supposed 
anti-foreign  proclivities. 

Chao  Erh-hsun,  ex- Viceroy  of  Manchuria  and  opponent  of  the 
Republic. 

Chao  Hui,  a  Manchu  General  of  Ch’ien  Lung. 

Ch’en,  Lady,  the  mistress  of  Wu  San-kuei. 

Cheng,  Lady,  favourite  concubine  of  Wan  Li  and  mother  of  Prince  Fu. 

b  1 


PRINCIPAL  PERSONS  NAMED 


Cheng,  Prince,  one  of  the  conspiring  Regents,  1861. 

Cheng  Te,  reign  title  of  Wu  Tsung,  Emperor  from  1506  to  1522. 
Ch’eng  Te,  a  Manchu  who  attempted  to  slay  the  Emperor  Chia  Ch’ing. 
Chen  Hsin-chia,  Ch’ung  Chen's  Minister  of  War. 

Cii’en  Pi,  corrupt  Minister  under  Hsiian  Thing,  now  adviser  to  the 
President,  Yuan  Shih-k’ai. 

Chen  Pao-chen,  one  of  the  “  Puritan  ”  party,  later  tutor  to  Emperor 
Hsiian  Thing. 

Chia  Ch’ing,  reign  title  of  Jen  Tsung,  who  succeeded  Ch’ien  Lung. 
Ch’i  Chun-tsao,  Grand  Councillor  under  Tao  Kuang. 

Ch’i  Hsiu,  Boxer  leader,  decapitated  in  1901. 

Ching  Lin,  decapitated  by  Old  Buddha  for  cowardice. 

Ch’in,  Madame,  Li  Tzu-ch’eng’s  personal  attendant. 

Chin,  Prince,  a  descendant  of  Yung  Lo. 

Cii’ing  Yi-k’uang,  Prince,  Prime  Minister  under  Tzii  Hsi  for  six 
years,  and  later  under  the  Regent. 

Chin  Kuei,  a  traitor  famous  in  history. 

Ch’i  Shan,  or  Kishan,  Yiceroy  of  Cantonjn  1811. 

Chou,  Empress,  wife  of  Ch’ung  Chen. 

Chou  Kuei,  a  statesman  in  the  last  days  of  the  Mings. 

Chu  Chiii-feng,  Governor  of  Hsiian  Hua  under  Ch’ung  Chen. 

Chu  Hsien,  leader  of  White  Lily  sect. 

Ciiu  Hung-chi,  rival  to  Prince  Ch'ing  from  1903  to  1907,  enemy  of 
Yuan  Shih-k’ai  and  ally  of  Ts’en  Ch’un-hsiian. 

Chu  Kuei,  tutor  and  valued  servant  of  Chia  Ch’ing. 

Ch’un,  Princess,  mother  of  Kuang  Hsu  and  sister  of  Tzu  Hsi. 

Ch’ung  Chen,  last  of  the  Ming  Emperors  at  Peking. 

Ch’ung  Ch’i,  father  of  A  Lu-te,  consort  of  Emperor  Thing  Chih,  friend 
of  Jung  Lu,  slew  himself  in  Paotingfu. 

Ch’ung  Hou,  signed  the  Treaty  of  Livadia  in  1878. 

Ch’ung  Hua,  Manchu  official  in  Formosa  in  1812. 

Ch’ung  Li,  Commander  of  Peking  gendarmerie  in  1900  and  pro-Boxer. 
Ciiu  Shih,  Grand  Secretary  of  Ch’ien  Lung. 

Ciiu  Yuan-chang,  canonised  as  T’ai  Tsu  or  the  Exalted  Ancestor, 
founder  of  the  Ming  dynasty. 

Deportment  Concubine,  one  of  Hsi  Tsung’s  consorts,  a  tool  of  Madame 
K’o. 

Dorgun,  Prince  Jui,  brother  of  Manchu  dynasty’s  founder  and  Regent 
to  Shun  Chih. 

Fan  Ching-wen,  Ch’ung  Chen’s  Grand  Secretary. 

Fan  Wen-cheng,  high  official  under  T’ai  Tsung. 

Fang  Ts’ung-che,  Grand  Secretary  of  Wan  Li. 


PRINCIPAL  PERSONS  NAMED 


Feng  Hsiu,  friend  of  Jung  Lu  and  father  of  the  Yii  Fei,  or  “  Gem  ” 
Concubine,  at  first  known  as  Hui  Fei. 

Fu  Ch’ang-an,  protege  of  Ho  Shen. 

Fu  K’ang-an,  a  prominent  General  under  Ch’ien  Lung  and  rival  of 
Ho  Shen. 

Ho  Lin,  brother  of  Grand  Secretary  IIo  Shen,  under  Ch’ien  Lung. 

Ho  Shen,  or  Ho  K’un,  the  all-powerful  Minister  of  Ch’ien  Lung,  put 
to  death  by  his  successor  Chia  Ch’ing. 

Ho  Shih-tai,  official  deputed  to  receive  the  Amherst  Mission. 

Hsiao  Chen,  Tzu  An,  Tzu  Hsi’s  colleague,  Empress  of  the  Eastern 
Palace. 

Hsiao  Te,  Empress,  wife  of  Hsien  Feng,  who  died  before  he  became 
Emperor ;  canonised  as  his  chief  Consort. 

Hsu  Ch’eng-yu,  son  of  Hsti  T’ung,  decapitated  by  the  Allies  in  1901. 

Hsu  Shih-ch’ang,  Viceroy  and  Grand  Councillor,  formerly  Yuan  Shih- 
k’ai’s  protege.  When  his  patron  was  dismissed,  HsU  character¬ 
istically  did  nothing  to  help  him. 

Hsu  Shu-ming,  a  partisan  of  the  Old  Buddha  in  1898. 

Hsu  T’ung,  Boxer  leader,  enemy  of  Kuang  Hsu,  slew  himself  in  1900 
on  fall  of  Peking. 

Huai  T’a-pu,  kinsman  of  Old  Buddha  and  of  Jung  Lu. 

Hung  Kuang  nominated  successor  to  the  last  Ming  Emperor  Ch’ung 
Chen  at  Nanking  in  1644. 

Huang  Sou-lan,  Vice-President  of  Board  of  War  in  1900. 

Huang  T’ien-pa,  a  well-known  theatrical  hero. 

Hung  Hsiu-ch’uan,  the  “  heavenly  king,”  a  Tai  Ping  leader. 

Hu  Yu-fen,  high  official  in  Peking  under  Kuang  Hsii,  and  friendly 
to  foreigners. 

I-Ciiiang-a,  Governor  of  Shantung  and  protege  of  Ho  Shen. 

Jirhalang,  or  Ciiierhalang,  first  cousin  of  T’ai  Tsung,  Prince 
Cheng. 

Jui  Ch’eng,  Viceroy  of  Wuchang  in  1911,  grandson  of  Ch’i  Shan. 

Jung  Lu,  kinsman  of  Tzh  Hsi,  devoted  adherent  and  patriotic  Manchu. 

K’ang,  Prince,  cousin  to  K’ang  Hsi. 

K’ang  Yu-wei,  reformer,  loathed  by  Tzh  Hsi. 

Kao  T’if.n-te,  and  Kou  Wen-ming,  leaders  of  the  White  Lily 
rebels  in  Ch’ien  Lung’s  and  Chia  Ch’ing’s  reigns. 

K’o,  Madame,  Hsi  Tsung’s  wet  nurse,  the  “  Lady  of  Divine  Worship,” 
who  resided  in  what  is  now  the  Naitzii-fu,  or  “  Foster-mother’s 
Palace.” 


3 


PRINCIPAL  PERSONS  NAMED 


K’o,  Prince,  descended  from  Nurhachi’s  second  son. 

K’ou  Lien-ts’ai,  a  eunuch  decapitated  by  the  Old  Buddha. 

Kuang  Hur,  official  deputed  to  receive  the  Amherst  Mission. 

K’uei  Chun,  a  chamberlain  to  the  Court  under  Tzii  Hsi  and  Lung  Yii. 

Kuei  Hsiang,  father  of  Lung  Yii  and  younger  brother  of  Tzh  Hsi. 

Kung,  Prince,  senior,  died  1898. 

Kung,  Prince,  junior;  P’u  Wei,  haughty  and  hostile  to  House  of 
Ch’un.  Opposed  the  abdication ;  thought  he  should  have  suc¬ 
ceeded  Kuang  Hsu.  Recently  lived  in  Tsingtau,  leading  the  Tsung- 
shetang  or  Restoration  Society. 

Lai  Pao,  commander  of  Peking  gendarmerie  under  Ch’ien  Lung. 

Li,  Concubine,  favourite  Consort  of  Kuang  Tsung. 

Li  Chia-chu,  Manehu  bannerman  of  Canton,  sometime  Speaker  of  the 
Senate. 

Li  Ciiih,  personal  name  of  Kao  Tsung,  Emperor  of  T’ang  dynasty, 
a.d.  655, 

Li  Ciiien-t’ai,  Grand  Secretary  under  Ch’ung  Chen ;  the  richest  man 
in  Peking  of  that  time. 

Li  Ciiing-shu,  eldest  son  of  Li  Hung-chang. 

Li  Hsi-ciiang,  Prefect  of  Peking  under  Li  Tzu-ch’eng. 

Li  Hsiu-ch’eng,  the  leader  of  the  Taiping  rebellion. 

Li  Hung-chang,  the  famous  Viceroy  of  Chihli. 

Li  K’o-yung,  a  General  at  close  of  T’ang  dynasty,  who  afterwards 
usurped  the  Throne. 

Li  Kuo-p’u,  a  Grand  Secretary  of  Hsi  Tsung. 

Li  Lien-ying,  time  damnee  and  Chief  Eunuch  of  Tzu  Hsi. 

Li  Ping-heng,  anti-foreign  and  Boxer  leader. 

Li  Shih-min,  the  ideal  ruler,  second  Emperor  of  the  T’ang  dynasty, 
seventh  century  a.d. 

Li  Ting-kuo,  brigand  chief,  supporter  of  Yung  Li,  fugitive  Ming 
Sovereign. 

Li  Tzu-ch’eng,  rebel  leader  and  usurping  Emperor. 

Li  Yen,  one  of  Li  Tzh-ch’eng’s  Generals. 

Li  Yu-heng,  Commander-in-chief  of  Szechuan  under  Tzu  Hsi. 

Liang  Ch’i-ch’ao,  one  of  the  leading  reformers  in  1898;  subsequently 
a  refugee  in  Japan.  Appointed  to  the  Cabinet  by  Yuan  Shih-k’ai. 

Liang  K’uei,  adopted  son  and  heir  of  Jung  Lu. 

Liao  Shou-heng,  Minister  on  Grand  Council  under  Tzu  Hsi,  and  anti- 
Boxer. 

Lien  Wen-chung,  clerk  in  Grand  Council  who  drafted  decree  of  20th 
June  1900  declaring  war  against  the  Powers. 

Lien  Yuan,  Manehu  and  anti-Boxer,  decapitated  in  1900. 

4 


PRINCIPAL  PERSONS  NAMED 


Lin  Hsu,  reformer  under  Kuang  Hsu,  put  to  death  by  Tzu  Hsi. 

Lin  Tse-hsu,  Viceroy  of  Canton,  who  burned  the  opium  and  defied 
Great  Britain,  thus  precipitating  the  first  China  War. 

Liu  Cn’tjAN-CHiH,  Chia  Ch’ing’s  Grand  Secretary. 

Liu  Chu-hsuan,  Prefect  of  Peking  under  Hsi  Tsung. 

Liu  Kuang-fu,  Censor  under  Wan  Li. 

Liu  K’un-yi,  Viceroy  of  Nanking  under  Tzu  Hsi. 

Liu  Lin,  alias  Liu  Ch’ing,  leader  of  Palace  conspiracy  in  1813. 

Liu  Te-ts’ai,  eunuch  implicated  in  Chia  Ch’ing’s  Palace  conspiracy. 
Liu  Tsung-min,  a  rebel  General  under  Li  Tzu-ch’eng. 

Lo  Pao,  Manchu  General  under  Chia  Ch’ing. 

Lu,  Prince,  cousin  of  Yung  Li,  the  last  of  the  Mings. 

Lu  Ch’uan-lin,  a  patriotic  statesman  at  the  close  of  the  Manchu 
regime. 

Lung  K’o-to,  maternal  uncle  of  Emperor  Yung  Cheng. 

Lung  Wu,  successor  to  Hung  Kuang,  slain  at  Foochow. 

Lu  Yuan-ting,  taotai  of  Shanghai  under  Kuang  Hsu. 


Ma  Shao-yu,  Ming  Peace  Commissioner  to  Manelnis. 

Meng  Cii’uan-chin,  a  censor  who  impeached  Po  Sui. 

Mien  En,  Prince  Ting,  nephew  of  Chia  Ch’ing. 

Mien  K’ai,  third  son  of  Chia  Ch’ing. 

Mu  Ch’ang-a,  Chief  Minister  under  Tao  Kuang. 

Nieh  Ch’i-kuei,  Provincial  Judge  under  Tzu  Hsi. 

Nien  Kexg-yao,  a  famous  General,  ordered  to  commit  suicide  by 
Yung  Cheng. 

Ning,  Prince,  rebelled  against  the  Ming  Emperor  Cheng  Te. 
Nurhachi,  founder  of  the  Manchu  dynasty. 

Pan  Shih-tsu,  Grand  Councillor  under  Tao  Kuang. 

Pao  Ning,  Governor-General  of  Hi. 

Pao  Tai,  Resident  at  Lhasa  under  Ch’ien  Lung. 

Pao  Yun,  Grand  Secretary  under  Tzii  Hsi. 

Po  Sui,  Grand  Secretary,  executed  by  Hsien  Feng. 

P’u  An,  father  of  Na  T’ung,  decapitated  for  improper  conduct  whilst 
serving  on  an  examination  commission. 

P’u  Shan,  an  Imperial  Duke,  flogged  by  Lung  Yii’s  eunuchs. 


San  Kuniang,  Ch’ien  Lung’s  literary  courtesan. 

Shen  Kuei-fen,  Grand  Councillor  during  Kuang  Hsii’s  minority. 
Shen  Liu-t’ing,  one  of  Lung  Yii’s  eunuchs. 


PRINCIPAL  PERSONS  NAMED 


Shih  Hsu,  Grand  Councillor  under  Tzh  Hsi,  afterwards  chief  guardian 
to  Emperor  on  Manchu  downfall. 

Shih  K’o-fa,  patriotic  Grand  Secretary  of  the  Ming  Emperor  Hung 
Kuang. 

Shou  Fu,  an  Imperial  Clansman  of  Kuang  Hsu’s  party,  son-in-law  of 
Lien  Yuan. 

Shun  Chih,  first  Manchu  Emperor,  said  to  have  taken  vows  as  a  bonze 
and  to  have  lived  to  extreme  old  age. 

Sulinga,  father-in-law  of  Ho  Lin,  Grand  Secretary  under  Ch’ien  Lung. 

Sun  Chia-nai,  Kuang  Hsu’s  tutor. 

Sung  Yun,  resident  at  Lhasa  under  Ch’ien  Lung. 

Sun  Shih-yi,  Envoy  to  Burmah  under  Ch’ien  Lung. 

Sun  Ti-a,  poet  of  the  T’ang  dynasty. 

Sun  Tzu-shou,  one  of  Kuang  Hsii’s  tutors. 

Sun  Yu- wen,  Grand  Councillor  under  Tzu  Hsi. 

Su,  Prince,  an  anti-republican  Manchu. 

Su  Shun,  President  of  Board  of  Revenue  and  Grand  Councillor,  Imperial 
Clansman  and  boon  companion  of  Hsien  Feng,  put  to  death  by  the 
two  Empress-Regents  for  treason,  in  1861. 


Tai  Hung-tzu,  first  Cantonese  to  enter  Grand  Council,  died  1910. 
T’an  Chiao-t’ien-erh,  the  most  famous  actor  in  China  under  Tzti  Hsi. 
Tao  Kuang,  reign  title  of  Mien  King,  canonised  as  Hsiian  Tsung,  or 
Distinguished  Ancestor. 

Teng  Ch’eng-hsiu,  a  Puritan  party  man  of  the  Reformers  of  1898. 
T’ieh  Pao,  famous  scholar  under  Ch’ien  Lung. 

Tien  Wen-cuing,  favourite  Minister  of  Yung  Cheng. 

Tsai  Chen,  son  of  Prince  Ch’ing,  and  Envoy  to  the  Coronation  of 
George  V ;  he  complained  at  not  being  given  a  higher  precedence, 
and  had  photographs  published  of  himself  as  Crown  Prince,  which 
he  was  not,  and  could  not  be. 

Tsai  Feng,  Prince  Ch’un,  the  ex-Regent. 

Tsai  Hsun,  Prince  Chuang,  Boxer  leader. 

Tsai  Lan,  Boxer  leader  and  brother  of  Prince  Tuan. 

Tsai  Lien,  son  of  Prince  Tun,  implicated  in  the  Boxer  rising. 

Ts’ai  Mou-te,  defender  of  the  city  of  Tai  Yuan  against  Li  Tzu-ch’eng. 
Tsai  Ying,  son  of  Prince  Kung,  implicated  in  Boxer  movement. 

Tsai  Yuan,  one  of  the  conspiring  Regents,  1861. 

Ts’ao  Pin-chou,  tutor  to  Hsien  Feng. 

Tseng  Kuo-fan,  statesman  and  soldier  who  overcame  the  Taipings. 
Tso  Tsung-t’ang,  General  and  statesman  under  Tzti  Hsi. 

Tuan  Ch’i-jui,  a  favourite  and  protege  of  Yuan  Shih-k'ai. 

6 


PRINCIPAL  PERSONS  NAMED 


Tuan  Fang,  Viceroy  and  amateur  in  curios,  decapitated  in  Szechuan 
bv  his  troops. 

Tu  Hsun,  eunuch  who  betrayed  Peking  to  Li  Tzu-ch’eng. 

Tun,  Prince,  fifth  son  of  Tao  Kuang  {vide  Manchu  genealogical  tree). 

Tung  Chia,  Empress,  mother  of  K’ang  Hsi. 

Tung  Fu-hsiang,  Boxer  leader,  who  falsely  claimed  until  his  death 
that  he  was  obeying  Jung  Lu’s  orders  in  attacking  the  legations. 

Tung  T’u-lai,  prominent  Chinese  supporter  of  Manchu  Emperor  T’ai 
Tsung. 

Tu  Shou-t’ien,  tutor  of  Tao  Kuang. 

Tzu  Hsi,  the  Empress  Dowager,  Old  Buddha,  or  Western  Empress. 

Wang  Ch’eng-en,  eunuch  Commander-in-chief  of  Peking,  who  died 
with  his  master,  the  Emperor  Ch’ung  Chen. 

Wang  P’eng-yun,  a  censor  under  Kuang  Hsii. 

Wang  Wen-shao,  favourite  of  Tzii  Hsi  and  sometime  Viceroy  of  Chihli. 
Grand  Councillor  under  Tzii  Hsi. 

Wan  Li,  reign  title  of  Shen  Tsung,  died  1620. 

Wei  Chung-hsien,  originally  called  Wei  Chin-chung,  an  infamous 
eunuch  under  the  late  Mings. 

Weng  T’ung-ho,  famous  scholar  and  tutor  to  Kuang  Hsii,  who  was 
dismissed  by  Tzu  Hsi  in  1898  for  alleged  hostility  to  herself. 

Wu  Chao-ping,  a  Canton  merchant  who  traded  with  the  barbarians 
under  Ch’ien  Lung. 

Wu  Hsiang,  father  of  Wu  San-kuei. 

Wu  Hsiung-kuang,  promoted  to  be  Grand  Councillor  by  Ch’icn  Lung. 

Wu  San-kuei,  made  a  Prince  by  the  Manchus,  afterwards  adopted 
reign  title  of  his  own  and  rebelled  against  them. 

Yang  Hsiao-lou,  palace  actor  under  Lung  Yii. 

Yang  Hsiu-ch’ing,  famous  General  of  the  Taiping  rebellion. 

Yang  Jui-lien,  a  famous  scholar  under  Yung  Cheng  and  Ch’ien  Lung. 

Yang  Lien,  loyal  official  who  impeached  the  eunuch  Wei  Chung-hsien. 

Yen  Hsiu,  Manchu  President  of  Board  of  Ceremonies  in  1886. 

Yi  Yuan-lu,  high  officer  who  slew  himself  at  the  fall  of  Peking  in  1614. 

Yuan  Ciiia-san,  grandfather  of  Yuan  Shih-k’ai. 

Yuan  Ch’ung-huan,  patriotic  Ming  General,  and  ancestor  of  Yuan 
Shih-k’ai. 

Yuan  Shih-k’ai,  born  in  1859  of  old  official  family.  Viceroy  of  Chihli, 
now  President  of  the  Republic. 

Yti  Hsien,  Manchu  Governor  of  Shansi  who  massacred  the  missionaries. 

Yu,  Prince  (son  of  T’ai  Tsung),  Manchu  Commander-in-chief  at  siege 
of  Yang  Chou-fu  in  1643. 


7 


PRINCIPAL  PERSONS  NAMED 


Yu  Te,  Grand  Secretary  under  the  Old  Buddha. 

Yti  Lu,  Viceroy  of  Tientsin  in  1900. 

Yun  Ciiiii,  eldest  son  of  K’ang  Ilsi  by  a  lower  concubine. 

Yung  Cheng,  son  of  K’ang  Hsi  and  successor  to  that  Monarch. 

Yung  Kuei,  Grand  Secretary  under  Ch’ien  Lung. 

Yung  Li.  reign  title  of  last  Ming  Prince,  giandson  of  Wan  Li,  who 
reigned  in  the  south  from  1645  to  1659. 

Yung  Lo,  fourth  son  of  first  Ming  Emperor,  who  usurped  the  throne 
from  his  nephew. 


S 


INTRODUCTION 


The  enduring  interest  displayed  by  many  readers  in 
the  character  of  China’s  great  Empress  Dowager  Tzu  Hsi, 
and  the  generous  appreciation  accorded  to  our  work 
on  her  life  and  reign,1  have  prompted  the  belief  that 
the  present  work,  covering  a  wider  stretch  of  space 
and  time,  should  prove  interesting,  and  of  some  value, 
to  those  who  desire  to  study  the  causes,  immediate 
and  remote,  of  recent  and  current  events  in  the  Far 
East.  Until  we  understand  something  of  the  main¬ 
springs  of  thought  and  action  which  determine  the 
governance  and  daily  life  of  a  people — something  of  their 
atavistic  memories  and  instincts,  of  their  social,  religious 
and  economic  systems,  it  is  not  possible  to  sympathise 
with  them  in  their  perils  and  crises  of  change,  or  to  render 
them  the  assistance  which  appreciation  of  their  motives 
and  intelligent  anticipation  of  their  needs  might  supply. 
And  to  see  the  Chinese  world  steadily  and  see  it  whole, 
to  trace  cause  and  effect  back  to  the  deeply  buried  founda¬ 
tions  of  their  philosophy  and  civilisation,  it  is  necessary 
to  look  at  things  from  their  point  of  view,  to  hear  them 
speaking,  amongst  themselves,  of  many  things  which 
the  West  has  forgotten,  but  which  are  still  part  of  the 
very  soul  of  the  East.  It  is  for  this  reason  that,  in  the 
present  work,  as  in  the  life  of  Tzu  Hsi,  we  have  thought 
it  best  to  reproduce  the  actual  form  and  substance  of 
the  words  in  which  China’s  Sovereigns,  annalists,  com¬ 
mentators  and  despatch-writers  have  recorded  the  events 

1  China  under  the  Empress  Dowager,  1910.  (Heinemann.) 

9 


INTRODUCTION 


of  contemporary  history,  hoping  thus  to  create  in  the 
mind  of  the  European  reader  something  of  the  atmosphere 
in  which  they  lived  and  moved. 

The  purpose  of  the  present  work  is  to  present  a  faith¬ 
ful  picture  of  life  at  the  Court  of  Peking,  beginning  with 
the  period  at  which  the  decline  of  the  Ming  dynasty  had 
definitely  set  in  and  the  rise  of  the  Manchu  power  had 
begun — that  is  to  say,  from  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth 
century  down  to  the  passing  of  the  Manchus,  to  the  chaos 
of  degeneration  and  disruption,  which  obtains  in  China 
to-day  under  the  name  of  a  Republic.  We  have  not 
attempted  to  construct  a  consecutive  chronological  record 
of  the  Empire’s  internal  history  or  foreign  relations, 
but  only  to  present  a  series  of  impressions,  taken  from 
life,  serving  to  illustrate  the  personal  and  domestic  rela¬ 
tions  of  China’s  rulers  with  their  Court,  and  of  the  Court 
itself  with  the  government  of  the  country ;  to  trace 
in  these  relations  (vitally  important  under  China’s 
patriarchal  system)  alternating  causes  of  national  growth 
and  decay;  to  watch,  during  the  space  of  a  few  genera¬ 
tions,  the  sowing  of  the  seeds,  and  the  reaping  of  the 
harvests,  of  good  and  evil. 

Our  object  being  to  reproduce  as  fully  and  as  truthfully 
as  possible  the  atmosphere  of  the  Court  of  Peking,  through¬ 
out  the  period  which  has  culminated  in  the  present 
paroxysm  of  demoralisation,  we  have  allowed  the  narra¬ 
tives  of  Chinese  writers  to  stand,  as  a  rule,  without 
attempting  to  amend  or  curtail  them  to  meet  the  con¬ 
ventions  of  reticence  imposed,  in  certain  directions, 
upon  European  writers.  Here  and  there  (notably  in 
the  narrative  of  the  sack  of  Yang  Chou-fu)  we  have 
thought  it  advisable  to  omit  some  of  the  worst  details 
of  horrors  inseparable  from  the  orgies  of  bloodshed  and 
lust  which  mark  the  rise  and  fall  of  power  in  China.  As 
a  whole,  however,  we  have  assumed  that  the  student  of 
history  prefers  to  see  things  as  they  are,  rather  than  as 

10 


INTRODUCTION 


the  moralist  would  prefer  them  to  be;  that  he  can,  and 
will,  approach  this  study  of  Eastern  life,  described  by 
Orientals,  in  the  same  spirit  of  detachment,  with  the 
same  recognition  of  fundamental  humanities  and  moralities, 
as  that  with  which  we  approach  the  brutal  frankness 
of  the  Chronicles  of  the  Kings  of  Israel — things  written 
for  our  learning. 

There  exists  a  small  and  happily  diminishing  class 
of  moralists  who  would  rather  not  look  upon  the  mirror 
of  history,  or  face  the  unpleasant  realities  of  life,  lest 
perchance  they  be  disturbed  from  their  comfortable 
fireside  conceptions  of  the  universe.  One  such  there  was 
— the  manager  of  an  American  agency  for  supplying 
improving  literature  for  the  home  circle — who  recently 
asked  us  for  a  series  of  articles  on  China  and  the  Chinese ; 
but  he  stipulated,  amongst  other  conditions  calculated 
to  preserve  the  moral  dignity  of  his  subscribers,  that 
“  they  should  contain  no  reference  to  concubines,  secon¬ 
dary  wives  or  other  forms  of  immorality.”  The  present 
Annals  and  Memoirs  of  the  Chinese  Court  are  no  more 
suitable  to  the  libraries  of  these  dwellers  in  the  walled 
garden  of  cherished  illusions  than  Job,  fresh  from  his 
place  amongst  the  ashes  and  scraping  himself  with  a 
potsherd,  would  be  fit  company  for  their  drawing-rooms. 
Nevertheless,  Job,  his  afflictions  and  philosophy,  remain 
to  this  day  commonplaces  of  existence  in  the  Far  East, 
and  he  who  would  truthfully  depict  the  life  of  this  people 
must  take  them  into  account.  As  it  was  in  the  beginning, 
so  it  is  now;  while  men  speak  glibly  of  parliaments  and 
representative  institutions,  the  “  stupid  people  ”  are 
“  born  unto  trouble  as  the  sparks  fly  upward,”  because 
of  an  ancient  social  system  not  to  be  uprooted  by  any 
philanthropic  devices  of  the  West.  Within  the  last 
few  months,  many  a  walled  city  of  China  has  known  once 
more  the  abomination  of  desolation,  has  heard  again 
the  familiar  voice  of  Rachel  mourning  for  her  children. 

11 


INTRODUCTION 


Railways,  telephones,  forts  and  ships — all  the  parapher¬ 
nalia  of  Europe’s  material  civilisation,  have  availed 
nothing  to  save  the  citizens  of  Nanking  from  the  hand 
of  the  destroyers,  men  of  their  own  race.  As  it  was  in 
the  time  of  the  Sabeans  and  the  Chaldeans,  so  it  remains 
to-day  in  the  East;  the  sons  of  Han  “are  far  from 
safety;  they  are  crushed  in  the  gate,  neither  is  there 
any  to  deliver  them  :  whose  harvest  the  hungry  eatetli 
up,  and  taketh  it  even  out  of  the  thorns,  and  the  robber 
swalloweth  up  their  substance.”  To  these  hereditary 
victims  of  an  outworn  patriarchal  system,  the  words  of 
Job  are  everyday  truths.  “  Terrors  make  them  afraid 
on  every  side.  Their  strength  is  hunger-bitten,  and 
destruction  stands  ever  ready  at  their  side.  The  king 
of  terrors  dwells  in  their  tabernacles  and  brimstone  is 
scattered  upon  their  habitations.” 

The  annals  and  memoirs  used  in  compiling  the  present 
work  have  been  selected  as  typically  representative  of 
the  Oriental  outlook  on  life  and  death,  and  the  business 
of  government.  We  have  not  sought  by  any  means  to 
emphasise  the  brutalities,  debaucheries  and  cruelties 
of  the  Forbidden  City;  we  have  not  looked  for  horrors, 
nor  reproduced  anything  which  the  Chinese  themselves 
would  consider  to  be  outside  the  range  of  common  experi¬ 
ence.  We  have  aimed  simply  at  reproducing  from  Chinese 
sources  a  series  of  impressions  true  to  life — not  life  as  the 
sentimental  humanitarian  prefers  to  imagine  it,  but  life 
as  it  was  yesterday,  and  will  be  to-morrow,  in  the  light 
that  beat  upon  the  Dragon  Throne,  and  in  the  dark 
shadows  behind  it.  To  do  this,  we  have  endeavoured 
to  steer  a  middle  course  between  the  Scylla  of  the  Chinese 
chroniclers’  brutal  realism  and  the  Charybdis  of  our 
conventional  and  often  prurient  reticences. 

The  reader  will  best  appreciate  the  historical  value 
and  the  significance  of  these  Chinese  records,  who,  in 
studying  them,  is  able  to  detach  himself  for  a  while  from 

12 


INTRODUCTION 


Western  modes  of  thought  and  standards  of  actions ; 
who,  clearing  his  mind  of  conventions  and  cant,  endeavours 
to  understand  the  fundamental  differences  between  the 
moralities  of  East  and  West,  and  to  weigh  their  results 
without  prejudice  or  passion.  It  is  impossible,  for 
instance,  for  any  one  who  regards  polygamy  as  a  form 
of  “  immorality  ”  to  study  Chinese  history  with  intelli¬ 
gent  sympathy ;  or  even  to  appreciate  the  motives  which 
chiefly  influence  individuals  and  determine  policies 
amongst  the  ruling  class  at  this  moment.  To  get  the 
correct  point  of  view,  we  must,  in  fact,  assume  for  the 
study  of  China’s  institutions  and  history  the  frame  of 
mind  in  which  we  approach  the  lives  of  the  Hebraic 
patriarchs  and  rulers ;  cheerfully  accepting  for  them 
customs  which  we,  the  heirs  of  all  the  ages,  have  decided 
to  modify  or  to  reject.  Better  still  if,  in  adopting  this 
attitude  of  detachment,  we  can  bring  ourselves  to  recog¬ 
nition  of  the  truth  that  the  Western  World’s  convictions 
and  conventions  concerning  the  moralities  are  neither 
final  nor  necessarily  superior,  as  a  whole,  to  those  of  the 
East.  Beneath  the  cruelties  and  rapacities  of  life,  the 
brooding  soul  of  the  East  preserves,  with  its  infinite 
capacity  for  suffering,  the  dignity  of  a  philosophy  and 
the  beauty  of  ideals  which  the  West  has  never  equalled, 
and  from  which  it  has  derived  many  of  its  noblest  inspira¬ 
tions  and  religions.  Inferior  to  the  European  in  many 
things  that  make  for  intellectual  and  material  progress, 
the  Oriental  in  general,  and  the  Chinese  in  particular, 
can  claim  superiority  in  this,  that  in  remaining  nearer  to 
nature,  he  has  escaped  the  shameful  hypocrisies  and  con¬ 
ventional  falsehoods,  which  play  so  large  a  part  in  the 
social  systems  of  the  Western  World.  Admitted,  that  the 
East’s  immemorial  acceptance  of  polygamy,  with  all  its 
multitudinous  paternity  and  chaotic  domesticity,  repre¬ 
sents  a  lower  ideal  than  that  which  finds  expression  in  the 
monogamous  West;  admitted,  that,  as  practised  by  the 

13 


INTRODUCTION 


rulers  of  China,  it  lias  been  the  cause  of  many  and  great 
evils;  yet,  so  soon  as  we  regard  the  question  dispassion¬ 
ately  and  without  reference  to  our  own  standard  of  con¬ 
duct,  we  are  compelled  to  admit  that  polygamy,  with  all 
its  evils,  has  preserved  the  Chinese  from  many  things  which 
they  justly  condemn  and  despise  in  our  social  system — 
from  the  terrible  human  traffic  of  our  streets,  from  the 
unsexed  or  superfluous  woman  and  the  militant  Suffra¬ 
gette,  from  the  network  of  sordid  sex  problems  and  intrigues 
which  honeycomb  European  society  and  reflect  themselves 
in  its  literature  and  drama.  The  East  is  by  tradition 
and  temperament  tolerant,  reluctant  to  discuss  the  im¬ 
mortal  Gods,  and,  for  the  rest,  judging  the  tree  by  its 
fruits ;  willing  to  see  good  in  every  creed  which  preaches 
benevolence  and  gentleness ;  yet  even  the  Chinese  cannot 
avoid  comparing  some  of  the  results  of  Christianity’s 
civilisation  with  their  own,  and  realising  with  satisfaction 
that  the  daily  records  of  our  divorce  and  police  courts 
have  no  parallels  in  the  East.  And  again,  although  we 
may  disagree  with  the  principles  and  practice  of  ancestor 
worship,  we  cannot  deny  that  it  has  inculcated  reverence 
for  parents,  with  definite  ideals  of  duty,  and  produced 
a  race  of  women  which  instinctively  prefers  death  to 
dishonour.  The  Chinese,  with  no  desire  to  argue  about 
worlds  unseen  or  the  road  thereto,  would  be  more  than 
human  if  they  took  no  comfort  from  comparing  these 
results  of  the  Confucian  philosophy  with  those  of  our 
European  systems;  if  they  failed  to  perceive  the  un¬ 
deniable  fact  that  (as  de  Tocqueville  observed  in  America) 
democracy  affords  neither  time  nor  place  for  that  profit¬ 
able  meditation  which  makes  for  the  peace  of  a  man’s, 
or  a  nation’s,  soul.  In  studying  Chinese  history  it  is  well 
to  remember  these  things. 

One  of  the  most  conspicuous  results  of  the  Chinese 
educational  and  philosophical  systems  confronts  us  in 
the  family  likeness  impressed  by  classical  traditions  upon 

14 


INTRODUCTION 


the  seven  ages  of  their  literature.  All  the  annalists  of 
the  Mings,  like  their  forbears  under  the  Sung  dynasty, 
and  their  descendants  under  the  Manchus,  use  the  same 
stock  phrases,  metaphors  and  arguments,  derived  one 
and  all  from  the  classical  authors  of  antiquity.  Age  can 
never  wither,  nor  custom  stale,  the  perennial  vitality  of 
their  venerable  quotations.  The  more  remote  their 
ancientry,  the  better  do  they  become  in  the  eyes  of  a  race 
of  scholars  who  : 

“  Though  they  wrote  in  all  by  rote, 

Could  never  write  it  right.” 

All  Chinese  literature  is  sicklied  o’er  by  the  pale  cast 
of  the  Confucian  tradition ;  therefore  it  is,  that  in  the 
Ming  chroniclers  of  the  sixteenth  century,  as  in  those  of 
the  T’ang  dynasty,  we  find  the  same  set  phrases,  the  same 
artificial  gestures  and  ready-made  emotions,  as  we  find 
in  the  presidential  mandates  of  Yuan  Shih-k’ai  to-day. 
Throughout  the  whole  course  of  Chinese  history,  events, 
as  recorded  by  the  Hanlin  annalist,  become  stereotyped 
in  fixed  groves  and  rigid  patterns.  The  Confucian 
scholar  sees  and  interprets  the  whole  human  comedy  in 
rigid  terms  of  classical  allusions.  For  him  there  is,  indeed, 
no  new  thing  under  the  sun;  nothing  in  heaven  or  earth, 
concerning  which  the  Four  Books  and  the  Five  Classics 
have  not  said  the  first  and  last  word.  In  the  fifteenth 
century,  a  somewhat  similar  attitude  obtained  amongst 
the  rank  and  file  of  European  scholars ;  indeed  there 
is  reason  to  believe  that  it  survives,  to  this  day,  in  certain 
slumbering  backwaters  of  our  universities.  The  mind 
which  lives  for  and  by  Latin  odes  or  Greek  elegiacs  at 
Oxford  is  surely  the  same,  in  its  causes  and  effects,  as  that 
which  rejoices  in  the  production  of  antithetical  couplets 
at  Peking;  fortunately  for  itself,  however,  it  has  to  deal 
with  a  different  public.  The  absence  of  a  healthy  spirit 
of  criticism,  due  to  the  Middle  Kingdom’s  splendid 

15 


INTRODUCTION 


isolation  and  self-sufficiency,  gradually  evolved  a  type  of 
scholarship  amongst  the  Chinese  which  displays  all  the 
erudition  of  a  Montaigne,  a  Bacon  or  a  Burton,  but  lacks 
their  saving  graces  of  humour  and  humanity.  Thus  it 
is  that  the  mandarin  scholar,  century  after  century,  has 
seen  and  described  men  and  events  in  a  dull  monotone 
of  conventional  platitudes.  Borne  down  by  the  weight 
of  the  classical  tradition,  all  things  in  heaven  and  earth 
are  associated  in  his  mind  with  the  odes  of  Confucius, 
the  stilted  periods  of  some  Sung  philosopher,  or  the 
poems  of  Li  Tai-po.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that 
we  find  official  annalists  of  the  present  day  using  precisely 
the  same  expressions  as  those  which  were  in  vogue 
amongst  the  writers  of  the  Ming  period ;  or  that,  through¬ 
out  the  dynastic  annals,  we  find  evidence  of  a  tendency, 
on  the  part  of  the  chroniclers,  to  make  history  conform, 
as  far  as  possible,  to  the  precedents  established  by  the 
old  times  before  them. 

Judged  in  the  light  of  its  achievements,  and  even  of 
its  avowed  aims,  Young  China  stands  at  present  condemned 
of  futility.  With  a  fair  field  and  much  favour,  it  has  failed 
to  seize  its  splendid  opportunities;  it  has  been  weighed 
in  the  balance  and  found  wanting.  But  even  whilst 
we  recognise  that  its  shrill-voiced  iconoclasm  and  loud 
beating  of  imported  drums  present  but  little  justification 
for  optimism,  yet  this,  at  least,  must  be  placed  to  its  credit, 
that  its  fervour  of  zeal  for  Western  learning  has  been, 
and  is,  an  intelligent  protest — a  conscious  reaction — 
against  the  petrefaction  of  the  Confucian  system,  against 
“  the  letter  which  killeth  ” ;  a  wholesome  breeze  of  dawn, 
stirring  the  dead  bones  in  the  dark  valleys  of  Chinese 
tradition.  The  lamp  which  they  have  lighted  can 
never  again  be  extinguished;  the  old  order  must  pass, 
giving  place  to  the  new.  It  will  be  well  for  China  and 
for  the  world  if,  in  destroying  the  fetters  of  the  past,  the 
leaders  of  the  people  find  grace  and  wisdom  to  seek  once 

1C 


INTRODUCTION 


more  the  pure  well  of  moral  philosophy  from  which  the 
early  sages  drew  their  sweetness  and  their  light. 

Amongst  such  morals  and  conclusions  as  the  reader  may 
draw  from  study  of  these  three  centuries  of  Chinese  history, 
one  of  the  most  obvious  is  to  be  found  in  the  persistent 
coincidence  of  periods  of  demoralisation  in  the  State 
with  the  ascendancy  of  eunuchs  at  Court.  The  Chinese 
have  always  realised  the  truth  of  this  matter;  scholars, 
historians  and  moralists  never  fail  to  declare  that  the 
Empire’s  crisis  of  private  corruption  and  public  disorder, 
the  decline  and  fall  of  dynasties,  have  been  caused  or 
greatly  hastened  by  the  interference  and  intrigues  of  these 
Court  menials  in  affairs  of  State.  The  first  Manchu 
rulers  perceived  clearly  the  evils  of  a  eunuch-ridden 
Court,  and  took  wise  precautions  against  them.  In  the 
fate  of  the  Mings,  the  lesson  was  writ  plain  for  them  to 
learn,  adding  one  more  to  the  many  warnings  of  history 
against  the  insidious  dangers  of  the  Court’s  excessive 
polygamy  and  the  atmosphere  of  debauchery  and  enerva¬ 
tion  thereby  created.  They  could  see  for  themselves 
to  what  a  pitiful  state  the  Throne  and  Court  had  been 
brought  by  the  tyrannous  cruelty,  treachery  and  greed 
of  the  eunuchs  who  infested  the  Forbidden  City  and 
projected  the  “  poisonous  miasma  ”  of  their  influence  to 
the  farthest  frontiers  of  the  Empire.  It  is  noteworthy 
that,  amongst  the  many  emasculated  Palace  officials  who 
rose  to  place  and  power  under  the  Mings  and  again  under 
the  latter  Manchus,  few  displayed  the  fidelity  and  the 
civic  virtues  which  seem  to  have  distinguished  those  of 
the  Court  of  Babylon,  or  those  which  Herodotus  attributes 
to  the  eunuch  magnates  of  Persia.  Fidelity  to  the  person 
of  the  Emperor  we  find,  indeed  (though  none  too  fre¬ 
quently),  combined  with  literary  and  histrionic  talents 
of  a  high  order  and  great  intellectual  vigour;  but  the 
history  of  China,  during  the  period  with  which  we  are 
dealing,  produces  no  eunuch  general  or  statesman  com- 

c  17 


INTRODUCTION 


parable  to  that  Hermias,  Governor  of  Atarnea,  to  whose 
manes  Aristotle  offered  sacrifice  and  sincere  reverence. 

If  we  compare  the  condition  of  China’s  civil  service  and 
military  organisation  of  to-day  with  that  which  obtained 
in  the  reign  of  Ch’ien  Lung,  we  are  compelled  to  seek 
for  specific  causes  to  account  for  so  complete  a  demoralisa¬ 
tion  of  the  ruling  caste  and  so  swift  decay  of  the  nation’s 
civic  and  patriotic  instincts.  A  century  and  a  half  ago, 
Chinese  armies,  organised  under  the  rigorous  military 
system  of  the  Manchus,  were  steadily  fighting  one  success¬ 
ful  war  after  another,  thereby  extending  the  frontiers 
of  the  Empire  and  the  benefits  of  its  well-ordered  adminis¬ 
tration  to  independent  Tartary,  Thibet,  Nepal,  Burmah 
and  Sungaria.  Studying  the  history  of  this  great  Monarch’s 
long  reign,  and  that  of  his  immediate  successors,  we  per¬ 
ceive  that  the  chief  cause  of  the  swift  decline  and  fall  of 
the  Manchu  power,  and  of  the  consequent  demoralisation 
of  the  whole  system  of  government,  lay  (as  Tzu  Hsi 
admitted  on  her  deathbed)  in  the  corruption  of  public 
and  private  morals  which  set  in,  so  soon  as  the  “  rats  and 
foxes  ”  of  the  Court  were  permitted  to  interfere  in  affairs 
of  State.  So  long  as  the  Palace  eunuchs  were  kept  in 
the  place  wisely  assigned  to  them  by  Shun  Chili,  and  de¬ 
barred  from  all  high  offices,  the  Court  retained  its  virile 
dignity  and  the  public  service  its  efficiency.  The  luxury, 
nepotism  and  venality  introduced  during  the  regime  of 
Ch’ien  Lung’s  favourite,  the  Grand  Secretary,  Ho  Shen, 
restored  to  the  Palace  eunuchs  opportunities  which  they 
had  not  enjoyed  since  the  overthrow  of  the  Ming  dynasty. 
Fifty  years  later,  their  ascendancy  at  Court  was  com¬ 
pletely  established.  Henceforward,  they  were  able  to 
exercise  once  more  their  traditional  functions  as  the 
tempters  of  youth,  the  debauchers  of  age,  in  the  profound 
seclusion  of  the  Forbidden  City,  until  gradually  the  Son 
of  Heaven  on  his  Throne  became  a  defenceless  puppet  in 
their  supple  bloodstained  hands.  Steep  is  the  ascent 

18 


INTRODUCTION 


of  Olympus,  rapid  the  descent  to  Avernus ;  the  structural 
character  of  a  people  moves  onward  and  upward  only 
by  slow  processes  of  evolution,  but  its  destruction  is  often 
brought  about  by  swift  and  direct  factors  of  demoralisa¬ 
tion.  Seldom  is  this  truth  thrown  into  relief  so  clear  as 
that  in  which  we  see  it  against  the  background  of  China’s 
history,  during  the  periods  immediately  preceding  the 
downfall  of  the  Ming  and  Manchu  dynasties. 


19 


CHAPTER  I 


A  CHINESE  HAROUN  AL  RASCHID 

When,  in  1368,  Chu  Yiian-chang,  Buddhist  priest, 
administrator  and  fighter,  established  the  Ming  dynasty 
by  his  successful  rebellion  against  the  degenerate  descend¬ 
ants  of  Kublai  Khan,  and  thus  shattered  the  last  remnants 
of  the  great  Mongol  Empire,  he  laid  down  certain  principles 
for  the  government  of  China  which  proved  him  to  be  a 
statesman  of  the  first  order.  He  realised  clearly  that 
the  rulers  of  the  Celestial  Empire  must  govern  rather  by 
moral  than  material  force,  and  that  the  consent  of  the 
governed  will  always  be  withdrawn  from  those  who  lack 
the  moral  qualities  which  the  people  reverence  and  expect 
in  their  rulers.  During  his  reign  and  that  of  his  illustrious 
nephew,  Yung  Lo,  literature,  education,  arts,  industries 
and  commerce  were  systematically  encouraged,  with 
results  that  conferred  great  glory  on  the  dynasty  and 
prosperity  on  the  people.  The  founder  of  the  great  Ming 
dynasty,  whose  throne  was  established  by  the  sword, 
knew  that  the  pen  is  a  mightier  weapon  against  the 
vicissitudes  of  Time — by  its  aid  he  hoped  to  revive  a 
patriotic  spirit  and  the  instincts  of  nationalism,  long  dor¬ 
mant  in  the  Chinese  people.  He  therefore  reorganised  the 
whole  system  of  the  public  service  and  competitive  exami¬ 
nations,  revised  the  penal  code,  regulated  taxation,  and 
introduced  a  national  currency.  More  important  than  all, 
as  has  since  been  repeatedly  proved,  he  forbade  the  official 
employment  of  eunuchs  at  the  capital. 

23 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


In  subsequent  chapters,  dealing  with  the  decline  and 
fall  of  the  Ming  dynasty,  the  rebellion  of  Li  Tzu-ch’eng, 
and  the  establishment  of  the  Manchu  power,  the  reader 
will  perceive  that  the  Ming  rulers’  failure  to  observe  this 
fundamental  principle  of  government  (upon  which  the 
great  Tzii  Hsi  insisted  as  she  lay  dying  in  1908)  was 
the  chief  cause  of  their  final  overthrow  and  of  countless 
calamities  to  the  nation  at  large.  It  was  in  the  year 
1430,  that  the  Emperor  Hsiian  Tsung,  grandson  of  Yung 
Lo,  adopted  the  well-meant  but  disastrous  course  of 
raising  the  status  of  the  Palace  menials,  and  giving  them 
the  advantages  of  a  first-class  literary  education.  During 
the  reign  of  his  successor,  the  power  of  the  eunuchs  and 
their  interference  in  affairs  of  State  steadily  increased,  and 
from  this  time  the  decline  of  the  great  Ming  dynasty  may 
be  said  to  have  commenced. 

Before  proceeding  to  describe,  from  contemporary  annals 
and  State  papers,  the  dark  days  of  anarchy  and  bloodshed 
which  preceded  the  subjugation  of  China  by  the  Manchus, 
let  us  narrate  the  following  episodes  from  the  life  of  the 
Ming  Emperor  Chang  Te,  who  reigned  from  1506  to  1522. 
The  story  is  taken  from  a  contemporary  memoir,  now 
very  scarce;  it  throws  instructive  light  on  the  life  and 
manners  of  the  Court  of  those  days,  before  the  energies  of 
the  Mings  had  been  sapped  to  the  extent  of  making  the 
Emperor  little  better  than  a  puppet  in  his  gilded  prison 
of  the  Forbidden  City. 

The  Emperor  Chang  Te  (a  reign  title,  meaning  “  Ortho¬ 
dox  Virtue  ”)  is  described  by  Chinese  historians  as  a 
sensual  and  thriftless  monarch.  He  may  have  been ;  but 
he  would  seem  at  least  to  have  been  superior  to  many 
of  his  successors  in  possessing  a  will  of  his  own,  a  sense 
of  humour,  a  taste  for  adventure,  and  other  redeeming 
qualities,  as  shown  by  the  following  incidents  of  his  reign. 

In  the  year  1508,  the  graduate- doctors  of  the  lowest 
degree,  or  Hanlin  bachelors,  were  undergoing  a  test  exami- 

24 


Portrait  of  a  Chinese  Official.  By  Wu  Tao-tzu  (Eighth  Century). 
( From  the  collection  of  Charles  L.  Freer ,  Esq.  at  Detroit.) 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


nation  before  a  Commission  in  the  Palace  to  qualify 
for  metropolitan  or  provincial  posts.  The  Emperor  him¬ 
self  was  present  and  took  an  active  part  in  the  examination. 

One  of  the  candidates,  a  bachelor  of  the  Hanlin  Academy, 
named  Lin  Chi-shih,  a  native  of  Fuhkien  Province,  was 
addicted  to  the  use  of  arbitrary  or  archaic  forms  in  the 
writing  of  characters.  When  the  essays  were  handed  in, 
His  Majesty  objected  to  Lin’s  style  of  writing  and  asked 
what  was  his  authority  for  such  affectations.  Lin  replied 
that  they  were  archaisms.  At  this,  the  Emperor  wrote 
out  a  spurious  character  of  his  own  invention  and  asked 
him  to  give  it  a  name.  Lin  said  he  did  not  know  it, 
whereupon  His  Majesty  observed  :  “If  one  character 
may  be  written  topsy-turvy,  why  not  another?  You 
are  evidently  not  a  scholar  of  the  standard  required  in 
the  Hanlin  Academy.  I  order  that  you  return  to  your 
native  place  to  study  for  three  years,  at  the  end  of  which 
time  you  may  come  to  Peking  and  compete  again  at  the 
examinations.” 

Lin  thanked  the  Emperor  and  withdrew.  His  friends 
and  relations  all  looked  upon  him  as  a  victim  of  Imperial 
displeasure,  and  refused  to  have  any  further  dealings  with 
him.  Being  very  poor,  he  could  not  afford  to  pay 
the  cost  of  the  journey  back  to  Fuhkien,  and  no  official 
in  Peking  would  give  him  employment  as  tutor,  owing  to 
his  having  incurred  Imperial  censure.  He  therefore  pro¬ 
ceeded  to  earn  his  livelihood  by  writing  scrolls  at  a  stand 
in  the  street  just  outside  the  Ch’ien  Men,  the  main  gate 
of  the  Tartar  city,  leading  to  the  Palace. 

As  his  writing  was  admirable,  he  attracted  much  atten¬ 
tion  from  literary  men.  One  day,  about  a  year  later, 
the  Emperor,  walking  about  as  he  loved  to  do,  incognito, 
was  passing  the  scribe’s  stand,  when  his  curiosity  was 
aroused  by  the  large  crowd  of  scholars,  who  were  pressing 
round  and  uttering  admiring  comments. 

Anxious  to  learn  the  cause  of  the  commotion,  the 

25 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


Emperor  made  his  way  through  the  crowd  and  observed 
a  young  man  wielding  his  pen  with  extraordinary  rapidity 
and  skill.  His  caligraphy  and  the  style  of  his  composition 
showed  plainly  that  he  was  a  master  of  the  literary  language, 
and  the  Emperor  (no  bad  judge)  was  delighted  with 
his  work.  He  had  forgotten  the  man’s  face,  being  at 
that  time  completely  absorbed  in  the  charms  of  the 
latest  favourite  in  his  harem. 

So,  coming  nearer,  he  said  to  the  writer  :  “I  perceive 
that  your  caligraphy  and  composition  are  alike  excellent; 
why  do  you  not  compete  at  the  examinations,  instead 
of  wasting  your  talents  in  this  humble  occupation  ?  ” 
Lin  looked  up  and  failed  to  recognise  His  Majesty,  but 
perceived  at  once  that  it  was  no  common  person  who  thus 
addressed  him;  so,  rising  from  his  place,  he  bowed  low 
and  invited  him  to  be  seated.  “  My  name,”  said  he,  “  is 
Lin  :  I,  all  unworthy,  passed  for  the  Hanlin  Bachelor¬ 
ship.”  The  Emperor  replied  :  “  It  is  not  fitting  that  a 
member  of  so  honourable  a  body  as  the  Hanlin  Academy 
should  engage  in  what  is  really  a  form  of  street  hawking.” 
“  At  the  Court  examination  held  last  year  for  conferring 
official  appointments  upon  Hanlin  bachelors,”  said  Lin, 
“  I  failed  to  recognise  a  character  written  by  His 
Majesty,  and  was  by  him  commanded  to  return  home  to 
Fuhkien  and  study.”  “  Why,  then,  have  you  disobeyed 
the  order  and  remained  in  the  capital?”  “Because,” 
said  Lin,  “  I  come  of  a  very  poor  family  and  could  not 
afford  to  pay  for  my  journey  home.  My  present  employ¬ 
ment  was  the  only  livelihood  left  to  me.”  The  Emperor 
asked  why  he  did  not  seek  a  position  as  tutor.  Lin 
answered  :  “  All  the  world  knows  that  I  am  in  disgrace, 
and  so  no  one  dares  engage  my  services.”  The  Emperor 
then  said  :  “I  will  recommend  you  for  a  post  as  secretary 
in  a  neighbouring  province,  which  will  at  least  be  an 
improvement  on  your  present  vocation.” 

Lin  gratefully  bowed  his  thanks  and  asked  the  Emperor’s 

26 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


title  and  address,  in  order  that  he  might  call  and  return 
thanks  for  his  kindness.  “  Never  mind  that,”  said  His 
Majesty,  “  wait  here  to-morrow  for  a  messenger  from  me.” 
With  that  he  turned  away.  None  of  the  spectators  had 
recognised  him,  though  all  were  surprised  at  his  kindness 
to  Lin.  Next  day,  a  eunuch  from  the  Palace  arrived 
bearing  a  sealed  yellow  envelope  and  a  hundred  taels. 
These  he  handed  to  Lin,  saying  :  “  Yesterday  an  official 
personage  told  me  to  hand  these  to  you,  sir,  and  to  direct 
you  to  follow  the  instructions  written  on  this  envelope. 
On  no  account  are  you  to  open  it,  lest  evil  befall  you. 
This  money  is  for  your  travelling  expenses.”  The  eunuch 
then  took  his  departure,  leaving  no  name.  Lin  examined 
the  envelope  and  read  the  inscription  writ  large  :  “To 
be  delivered  in  person  to  the  Governor  of  Shantung  and 
to  be  opened  by  him.” 

Lin  joyfully  closed  his  stand,  hired  a  cart  and  proceeded 
with  his  former  servant  to  Chi-nan  fu.  At  that  time  the 
substantive  post  of  Governor  was  vacant,  and  was  tem¬ 
porarily  filled  by  the  Treasurer.  Arrived  at  the  provincial 
capital,  Lin  took  up  his  quarters  at  an  inn,  changed  his 
clothes  and  proceeded  with  his  servant  to  the  Governor’s 
yamen.  The  Acting  Governor  had  a  high  reputation  as 
an  honest  official  and  a  strict  disciplinarian;  his  under¬ 
lings  dared  not  accept  bribes,  so  it  was  no  easy  matter 
to  gain  access  to  his  presence.  For  three  days  in  succession 
Lin  tried  unsuccessfully  to  send  in  his  card,  and  at  last 
said  reproachfully  to  one  of  the  gate-keepers  :  “I  have 
a  secret  message  from  Peking  which  I  must  deliver  in 
person.  Why  do  you  obstruct  me  like  this  ?  ”  The 
underling  then  informed  the  official  in  charge  of  the  gate, 
who  ordered  Lin  to  approach,  but,  on  observing  his 
somewhat  common  raiment,  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
he  was  merely  a  suppliant  for  favour.  Therefore  he  shook 
his  head  contemptuously,  saying  :  “  My  master  is  Acting 
Governor  of  this  province  and  far  too  busy  to  see  any 

27 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


former  friend  of  his  less  prosperous  days.  Any  letter 
you  may  have  for  him  I  will  deliver;  meanwhile,  get  you 
to  your  lodging  and  wait  until  you  hear  from  me.”  Lin 
was  obliged  to  hand  him  the  yellow  envelope  and  went 
sorrowfully  back  to  the  inn. 

Scarcely  had  he  reached  his  room,  when  the  landlord 
came  rushing  in  and  made  obeisance  before  him.  “  I 
did  not  recognise  Your  Excellency,”  he  said,  “  and  have 
failed  in  respect  to  your  attendants.  I  deserve  to  die  a 
thousand  deaths.”  Indignantly  Lin  answered  :  “  Why 
do  you  mock  my  poverty?”  The  landlord  was  about 
to  explain,  when  a  great  commotion  was  heard  outside 
the  inn ;  gongs  were  beaten  and  crackers  fired.  An  aide- 
de-camp  from  the  Governor  had  arrived,  attended  by  a  large 
retinue,  and  was  kneeling  reverently  at  the  inn  door.  When 
the  ceremony  was  completed,  he  rose  and  addressed  Lin : 
“  The  provincial  Treasurer  bids  us  invite  Your  Excellency 
the  Imperial  Commissioner  to  proceed  to  his  office.” 

Lin,  completely  dumbfoundered,  felt  as  if  he  were 
walking  on  air.  However,  he  was  assisted,  almost  by 
force,  into  a  sedan-chair  borne  by  eight  men.  Preceded 
by  a  long  line  of  insignia  bearers  and  followed  by  troops 
of  horsemen,  he  was  carried  into  the  yamen,  just  outside 
the  main  hall  of  audience.  Here,  the  provincial  Treasurer 
(that  was  Acting  Governor)  was  awaiting  him  in  full  dress. 
Alighting  from  the  sedan  he  observed  an  altar  upon  which 
incense  was  burning ;  on  it  lay  the  yellow  envelope  which 
had  been  entrusted  to  him  for  delivery.  The  Treasurer 
knelt  before  the  altar  and  saluted  His  Sacred  Majesty’s 
communication ;  then,  bowing  to  Lin,  he  said  :  “  Will 
Your  Excellency  the  Imperial  Commissioner  be  pleased 
to  read  aloud  the  sacred  decree?”  Lin  opened  the 
envelope  and  read :  “  The  Governorship  of  Shantung 
is  at  present  vacant.  We  command  Lin  Chi-shih  to  act 
as  Governor.”  Realising  that  it  was  the  Emperor  himself 
who  had  befriended  him,  he  kotowed  nine  times  in  the 

28 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


direction  of  the  Forbidden  City.  The  Treasurer  then 
came  forward  with  his  congratulations,  apologising  for 
not  having  met  him  at  some  distance  from  the  city.  So 
Lin  became  Governor  of  Shantung  and,  as  in  duty  bound, 
drafted  a  memorial  of  thanks  to  His  Majesty  and  requested 
an  audience.  Not  long  after  he  received  the  Imperial 
rescript :  “  We  saw  that  you  possessed  capacity  and  we 
therefore  conferred  this  appointment  upon  you.  Do  your 
duty  diligently  in  all  things,  so  as  to  do  credit  to  Our 
choice.  In  three  years’  time  return  to  Peking  and  give 
an  account  of  your  Governorship.” 

At  the  expiry  of  the  appointed  time  Lin  returned  to  the 
capital  and  had  audience  with  the  Emperor,  who  said  : 
“You  have  now  acquired  a  literary  efficiency :  we 
appoint  you  Hanlin  compiler.  Study  three  years  more 
at  the  Academy,  and  we  shall  then  see  what  higher 
appointment  you  may  deserve.” 

On  another  occasion,  the  Emperor  entered  the  quarters 
in  the  Palace  where  the  Grand  Secretaries  were  wont  to 
transact  business  after  audience,  and  found  all  the  officials 
there  assembled  at  breakfast.  They  rose  at  his  entrance, 
and  the  Emperor  said  :  “  Come  all  of  you  to  my  private 
apartments,  after  you  have  finished,  that  we  may  talk.” 
In  due  course  they  joined  His  Majesty,  who  bade  them  be 
seated.  “You  have  all  been  eating  rice,”  said  he;  “do 
you  know  anything  about  the  method  of  its  cultivation 
and  the  difficulty  of  producing  a  crop  ?  Before  I  succeeded 
to  the  Throne,  I  used  to  fancy  that  cereals  were  produced 
like  weeds,  that  they  grew  of  themselves  without  any 
trouble  being  bestowed  on  them.  However,  now  that  I 
often  roam  about  the  country  and  have  seen  with  my  own 
eyes  the  hardships  which  the  peasants  endure,  I  realise 
the  truth  of  the  old  saying  :  ‘  Every  grain  of  the  rice 
on  your  plate  is  won  by  the  sweat  of  the  brow.’  You, 
my  ministers,  come  from  various  parts  of  the  Empire, 

29 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


and  the  customs  of  North  and  South  differ  greatly.  I 
desire  now  to  extend  my  knowledge,  and  I  therefore  request 
that  each  of  you  will  state  fully  for  my  information  the 
methods  of  sowing,  weeding  and  harvesting  rice  in  your 
respective  parts  of  the  Empire.”  It  so  happened  that 
most  of  the  Ministers  of  the  day  had  begun  life  as  farmers’ 
sons  and  peasants,  so  they  were  able  to  supply  the  Emperor 
with  the  information  he  desired.  But  there  was  one 
president  of  a  Board,  by  name  Chang  Chin,  of  an  ancient 
and  aristocratic  family,  who  was  quite  ignorant  of  the 
subject.  To  him  His  Majesty  scornfully  said :  “  How 
can  you  perform  the  functions  of  your  office  if  you  are 
so  grossly  ignorant  about  the  production  of  the  very  food 
you  eat?  Can  you  possibly  attend  to  the  daily  business 
of  your  Board  without  committing  some  serious  blunder 
or  dereliction  of  duty  ?  ” 

The  President  was  so  much  alarmed  that  he  could  only 
kotow,  and  then  in  his  confusion  he  mumbled  :  “I  am 
Chief  of  the  Ministry  of  Civil  Appointments ;  this  morning 
I  attended  office,  and  the  last  business  we  dealt  with  was 
the  filling  of  a  vacancy  in  Kiangsu  Province  for  the  post 
of  Deputy  Assistant  District  Magistrate  (the  lowest  post 
in  the  Empire  carrying  official  rank).  My  ministry  has 
the  right  to  nominate  for  this  post  on  this  occasion,  as  on 
the  last  occasion  the  Governor  of  the  Province  conferred 
the  appointment.”  1 

His  Majesty  roared  with  laughter  :  “  Is  this  wretched 
piece  of  routine  business  all  you  can  cite  in  answer  to  my 
question?  ”  With  that  he  shook  his  sleeve,  dismissing 
the  ministers.  The  President’s  colleagues  asked  him  why 
he  had  made  such  a  stupid  reply.  “  I  was  so  greatly 
bewildered,”  said  he,  “  that  my  mind  refused  to  think  of 
anything  else.” 

1  Posts  below  a  certain  rank  in  the  provinces  are  filled  alternately 
on  the  invitation  of  the  Peking  Ministry  and  of  the  provincial 
authorities. 


30 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


A  few  days  later  a  decree  was  issued  :  “  The  post  of 
Deputy  Assistant  District  Magistrate  at  T’ai-hu  in  Kiangsu 
is  hereby  given  to  President  Chang  Chin  !  ”  On  reading 
the  decree  he  was  greatly  distressed.  Turning  to  his 
colleagues,  he  said  :  “  What  can  it  mean  and  what  shall 
I  do  ?  The  lowest  post  in  the  official  list  is  given  me ; 
naturally  I  must  proceed  to  take  up  my  new  duties,  but 
would  it  be  right  for  me  to  ask  for  a  farewell  audience 
before  leaving  Peking?  ”  His  colleagues,  greatly  tickled 
at  the  Imperial  jest,  replied  :  “  What  right  has  an  official 
of  the  lowest  rank  to  demand  an  audience  ?  All  you  can 
do  is  to  prostrate  yourself  at  the  Gate  of  Mid-day,1  and 
thank  His  Majesty.  There  they  will  give  you  the  warrant 
authorising  you  to  take  over  the  post.  But  as  the  decree 
says  nothing  about  your  being  cashiered  or  reduced  in 
rank,  you  will  have  to  go  on  wearing  your  first-class  button 
and  official  robes.” 

On  arrival  at  the  provincial  capital,  he  found  the  Gover¬ 
nor  and  all  the  local  officials  awaiting  to  greet  him  in  the 
suburbs  as  a  mark  of  respect.  But  he  begged  them  to 
desist  and  go  home,  while  he  proceeded  on  foot  to  pay  his 
respects  to  the  various  officials,  presenting  to  each  his 
visiting  card,  drawn  up  in  the  humblest  form  like  that  of  a 
petitioner.  This  made  all  the  officials  rather  uncomfort¬ 
able,  as  he  was  superior  in  rank  to  them  all,  so  they  begged 
him  to  remain  in  residence  at  the  provincial  capital  and 
not  to  trouble  about  taking  up  his  post.  He  replied  : 
“  How  dare  I  disobey  the  Imperial  mandate  ?  I  shall 
proceed  thither  on  the  first  auspicious  day.”  Thereupon 
the  Prefect  and  Magistrate  of  T’ai-hu  decided  in  all  haste 
to  decorate  and  alter  his  official  residence,  so  as  to  make  it 
resemble  as  closely  as  possible,  and  so  far  as  size  would 
allow,  the  yamen  of  a  governor.  Outside  they  mustered 
a  great  number  of  lictors  and  runners,  with  a  forest  of 


1  The  southern  gate  of  the  Forbidden  City. 

31 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


insignia  and  bands  of  musicians,  and  they  placed  chevaux 
de  Jrise  in  front  of  the  main  entrance. 

On  his  arrival,  the  President-Magistrate  observed  that 
his  new  residence  was  surrounded  on  three  sides  by  rice- 
fields,  and  thus  it  came  to  him  that  His  Majesty  desired 
him  to  learn  by  practical  experience  the  hardships  of  a 
farmer’s  life.  So  he  dismissed  all  his  underlings  and 
retinue,  and  thereafter  made  it  his  daily  business  to  go, 
simply  dressed,  amongst  the  people,  visiting  the  adjoining 
villages  and  chatting  with  the  elders  concerning  the 
condition  of  the  peasantry.  He  made  careful  study  of 
their  grievances,  and  took  note  of  wrongs  that  might 
be  put  right.  Five  years  he  lived  amongst  them,  acting 
as  mediator  and  arbitrator  in  their  disputes,  so  that  he 
earned  the  respect  of  all  men  and  their  goodwill. 

When,  in  1519,  Prince  Ning,  a  kinsman  of  the  Emperor, 
rebelled,  His  Majesty  came  South  in  person  to  chastise 
him,  and  arrived  in  due  course  at  Soochow,  the  provincial 
capital  of  Kiangsu  Province.  The  ex-President,  hearing 
of  his  impending  arrival,  hurried  to  Soochow  and  said  to 
the  Governor :  “  I  who  have  held  one  of  the  highest  posts 
in  the  Empire  am  in  duty  bound  to  wait  upon  His  Majesty 
when  he  arrives  here,  but  official  etiquette  forbids  that 
one  who  holds  so  humble  a  post  as  that  of  Deputy  Assist¬ 
ant  District  Magistrate  should  proceed  to  the  provincial 
capital  and  absent  himself  from  his  duties.  What  do  you 
advise  me  to  do  ?  ” 

The  Governor  and  his  colleagues  replied  :  “  As  regards 
official  duties  you  are,  it  is  true,  our  subordinate,  but  in 
rank  you  are  our  superior.  You  should,  therefore,  go  to 
meet  His  Majesty,  wearing  your  robes  and  insignia  of  the 
highest  rank,  but  you  should  take  up  a  position  in  our 
rear.”  To  this  the  President  agreed.  As  the  Imperial 
cortege  drew  near,  His  Majesty,  who  was  on  horseback, 
recognised  him  from  a  distance,  and  bade  him  approach. 
“  Do  you  now  understand,”  said  he,  “  the  hardships  of  a 

32 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


farmer’s  life?  ”  The  President  kotowed  and  thanked  the 
Emperor  for  the  lesson  he  had  given  him.  His  Majesty 
bade  him  join  the  Imperial  party  at  the  travelling  lodge, 
and  there  questioned  him  concerning  the  fulfilment  of 
his  charge.  The  President  gave  him  full  details  of  the 
various  reforms  he  had  initiated,  which  so  pleased  His 
Majesty  that  he  promoted  him  to  a  rank  even  higher 
than  that  which  he  had  previously  enjoyed,  namely,  to  be 
Assistant  Grand  Secretary. 

During  this  same  expedition  against  Prince  Ning,  while 
the  Imperial  barge  was  moored  one  day  at  Ch’ing-ho  on 
the  Grand  Canal,  in  Kiangsu,  His  Majesty  went  incognito 
and  afoot  to  an  adjacent  teashop,  desiring  to  hear  some¬ 
thing  of  the  local  gossip.  As  he  sat  there,  he  heard  many 
grievous  complaints  concerning  the  squeezing  and  bare¬ 
faced  robbery  which  travellers  were  suffering  at  the  hands 
of  certain  military  officers  and  their  underlings.  Every 
boat  passing  up  and  down  the  canal  at  this  point,  whether 
laden  with  merchandise  or  personal  baggage,  was  liable 
to  detention  until  it  paid  their  extortionate  charges,  and 
if  the  “  squeeze  ”  was  not  promptly  forthcoming,  all  the 
contents  of  the  boat  were  confiscated  and  the  boat  itself 
often  smashed  to  pieces.  Travellers  and  traders  were 
loud  in  their  helpless  wrath  at  this  state  of  affairs,  and 
many  expressed  their  hope  that  the  rebel  prince  would 
defeat  the  Imperialist  forces,  for  any  change  must  be  for 
the  better. 

The  Emperor  made  up  his  mind  to  look  into  these 
matters  for  himself,  so  he  bought  a  small  boat,  dressed 
himself  as  a  trader,  and  with  only  one  body-servant  and 
a  young  eunuch,  proceeded  down  the  canal.  On  reaching 
the  Customs  station  which  lies  outside  the  important 
city  of  Yang  Chou-fu,  close  to  the  Yangtsze,  the  Emperor 
saw  hundreds  of  boats  drawn  up  in  rows,  which  were  being 
searched  by  the  river  police  and  petty  Customs  officers, 
n  33 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


A  large  Customs  barge  was  moored  to  the  bank  where  the 
tolls  were  fixed  and  protests  heard.  From  each  boat 
heavy  payment  was  being  exacted  in  the  name  of  the 
Emperor  and  ostensibly  for  the  purpose  of  providing  funds 
to  suppress  the  rebellion.  All  the  merchants  meekly  paid 
“squeeze”  to  the  underlings,  who  were  rapidly  making 
their  fortunes.  When  the  time  came  for  the  Emperor’s 
boat  to  be  searched,  His  Majesty  lay  prone  in  the  stern 
and  when  summoned  to  rise  paid  no  attention.  The 
runners,  therefore,  seized  him  roughly  and  brought  him  to 
the  Customs  barge,  where  he  saw  an  official  in  full  robes 
surrounded  by  lictors  and  seated  at  a  table,  as  if  he  were 
presiding  at  a  court.  As  the  Emperor  approached,  this 
official  began  angrily  to  upbraid  him  :  “  What  manner  of 
man  are  you  who  dare  interfere  with  His  Majesty’s  ser¬ 
vants  in  the  execution  of  their  duty  ?  Has  the  law  no 
terrors  for  you  ?  do  you  not  fear  the  heavier  bamboo?  ” 
At  this  the  Emperor  smiled  contemptuously,  so  the  official 
bade  his  lictors  strip  him  and  apply  the  heavy  bamboo 
to  his  person.  Happily  His  Majesty’s  body-servant  was 
a  particularly  lusty  fellow,  and  he  succeeded  in  putting 
fear  into  the  myrmidons  for  the  time  being,  so  that  the 
Emperor  suffered  no  insult.  But  the  official  grew  angrier 
than  ever.  He  shouted  :  “  This  is  evidently  some  notori¬ 
ous  river  pirate  or  cut-throat.  Go  and  arrest  his  boatman.” 
They  did  so,  and  flogged  him  cruelly  to  make  him  confess 
that  he  knew  the  Emperor  to  be  a  robber. 

Meanwhile,  His  Majesty  had  drawn  from  his  breast  a 
tablet  of  jade  and  told  the  eunuch  to  take  it  to  the  Lieu¬ 
tenant-Governor  of  the  province  (who  at  that  time  resided 
at  Yang  Chou)  and  bid  him  come  quickly.  Very  soon,  in 
obedience  to  the  Imperial  command,  the  Governor  came 
hurrying  up  in  a  panic  of  nervous  fear.  On  seeing  him 
approach,  the  Customs  official  knelt  at  the  gangway  to 
receive  him,  and  was  just  beginning  to  tell  him  how  he  had 
captured  a  notorious  pirate,  when  the  Governor  perceived 

34 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


the  Emperor  standing  near  the  main  mast.  Reverently 
he  fell  upon  his  knees,  and  prostrated  himself  in  the  dust, 
imploring  forgiveness. 

The  Emperor  remained  silent,  but  made  signs  to  his 
body-servant  to  remove  the  offending  official’s  hat  and 
button.  These  he  presented  to  the  boatman,  who  thus 
attained  to  official  rank.  Said  he  :  “  This  hat  is  to  com¬ 
pensate  you  for  the  pain  you  have  suffered.”  Next  he 
ordered  that  the  official  be  arrested  and  made  to  disgorge 
his  ill-gotten  gains,  after  which  he  was  duly  decapitated. 
All  the  higher  officials  of  the  town  were  punished  for  having 
failed  to  put  a  stop  to  these  exactions,  and  from  this  time 
forward  the  boats  of  travellers  were  allowed  to  pass  in  peace. 

On  the  last  night  of  the  year  after  the  Emperor’s  return 
to  Peking  from  the  expedition  against  Prince  Ning,  he 
left  the  Forbidden  City  to  make  a  round  of  the  various 
government  offices,  for  he  knew  that  they  would  then  be 
practically  deserted,  as  the  officials  would  be  seeing  the  old 
year  out  at  their  own  homes.  But  when  he  reached  the 
Board  of  Appointments  (Li  pu)  he  heard  sounds  of  cheerful 
song  proceeding  from  the  main  hall,  as  if  a  large  party  of 
revellers  were  gathered  together.  The  song  was  of  the 
South. 

The  Emperor  entered  and,  to  his  astonishment,  found 
only  one  petty  official,  who  was  singing  to  himself,  with  a 
plate  of  meat  before  him  and  a  wine-kettle.  This  man  rose 
as  the  visitor  entered,  and  politely  offering  him  a  seat, 
proffered  a  cup  of  wine.  The  Emperor  asked  him  : 
“  What  is  your  official  rank  and  why  are  you  here  all 
alone?  ”  He  replied  :  “  I  am  a  native  of  Chekiang  and 
am  on  duty  at  this  Board  as  a  clerk.  The  seals  being 
locked  up  for  the  New  Year  holiday,  all  the  officials  are 
away  at  their  homes,  drinking  and  feasting  with  their 
families.  I  thought  it  wrong  and  dangerous  that  such  a 
mass  of  official  documents  and  archives  should  remain 

35 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


unguarded,  so  I  have  remained  here  on  watch  and  will 
not  desert  my  post.”  The  Monarch  said  :  “  Very  good.  I 
shall  see  you  to-morrow.”  With  that  he  departed,  the 
clerk  attended  him  to  the  door,  and  then  resumed  his 
solitary  vigil. 

Next  morning,  when  the  whole  Court  and  the  chief 
metropolitan  officials  proceeded  to  the  main  Palace  hall 
to  offer  their  New  Year  congratulations,  the  Emperor 
turned  to  the  President  of  the  Board  of  Appointments 
(the  same  man  who  had  just  returned  from  learning  the 
hardships  of  a  farmer’s  life  in  the  T’ai  hu  magistracy), 
and  asked  :  “  What  is  the  name  of  the  clerk  who  was  on 
watch  at  your  Board  last  night  ?  Let  him  attend  our 
audience  at  once.” 

The  President  promptly  dispatched  a  Board  secretary 
to  command  the  clerk’s  presence.  So  he  came  to  the 
Throne  Hall,  and  after  making  the  nine  obeisances,  looked 
up  and  perceived  in  the  Emperor  his  guest  of  the  previous 
evening.  He  trembled  all  over,  but  His  Majesty  reassured 
him.  “  Be  not  alarmed.  Your  diligent  performance  of 
duty  and  faithfulness  to  the  trust  imposed  upon  you,  are 
worthy  of  the  highest  praise.  What  is  the  highest  pro¬ 
motion  to  which  you  would  be  entitled  at  the  end  of  your 
present  term  of  office  ?  ”  The  clerk  answered  :  “If  my 
conduct  has  been  blameless  for  five  years  and  no  black 
marks  are  recorded  against  me,  the  most  I  could  expect 
would  be  to  be  eligible  for  selection  as  an  official  of  the 
secondary  ninth  rank.”  1  His  Majesty  said  :  “  What  post 
do  you  covet?  ”  “  What  your  unworthy  servant  covets 

is  the  post  of  Deputy  Assistant  District  Magistrate  at 
T’ai  hu  in  Kiangsu,  because  it  has  been  temporarily  held 
of  late  by  the  President  of  my  Board.  It  would  be  an 
extraordinary  honour  to  obtain  it,  because  recent  events 
have  caused  it  to  loom  large  in  the  public  eye.  But  as  my 

1  This  is  the  lowest  rank  entitling  the  holder  to  be  classed  as  an 
“  official.” 


36 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


time  of  duty  at  my  present  post  is  still  unexpired,  it  would 
be  contrary  to  precedent.” 

His  Majesty  smiled  :  “  If  we  command  you  to  proceed, 
what  has  precedent  to  do  with  the  case?  ”  The  clerk, 
overcome  with  joy,  exclaimed  :  “  Wan  Sui !  ”  (Ten  thousand 
years)  “  May  Your  Majesty  live  for  ever  !  ”  So  the  Emperor 
bade  the  President  prepare  the  necessary  papers  and 
arrange  for  the  clerk’s  immediate  departure  to  take  up 
his  new  post. 

In  1517,  the  Emperor,  whose  eccentricities  and  excur¬ 
sions  were  the  despair  of  the  Court,  took  it  upon  himself  to 
proceed  incognito  to  Hsiian-Hua  fu  (about  120  miles 
north  of  Peking).  The  fairest  damsel  in  that  city  was 
“  Sister  Phoenix,”  then  in  her  seventeenth  year;  she  was 
the  daughter  of  a  wine- distiller  named  Li,  and  she  kept 
his  shop.  One  day,  when  her  father  was  out,  the  Emperor, 
passing  by  on  one  of  his  walks,  observed  her  dazzling 
and  queenly  beauty.  At  the  charm  of  a  glance,  sufficient 
of  itself  to  overthrow  a  kingdom,  His  Majesty  felt  as  if 
he  were  losing  control  of  his  senses.  He  entered  and  called 
for  wine.  The  maiden  brought  it,  and  the  Emperor, 
supposing  her  to  be  an  ordinary  courtesan,  seized  her  in 
his  arms  and  bore  her  to  the  inner  chamber.  She  was 
shouting  for  help,  when  His  Majesty  placed  his  hand  over 
her  mouth  and  said  :  “  We  are  the  Son  of  Heaven.  Trust 
yourself  to  Us,  and  wealth  and  power  are  yours  from  this 
day  forward.” 

Now  it  so  happened  that  Sister  Phoenix  had  recently 
dreamed  more  than  once  that  she  was  changed  into  a 
white  pearl  and  carried  off  by  a  divine  dragon.  But 
there  the  dream  had  always  stopped.  She  now  under¬ 
stood  its  meaning,  and  believing  the  Emperor’s  word, 
submitted  to  his  august  wishes.  His  Majesty  was  en¬ 
raptured  to  know  that  she  was  no  courtesan,  but  a 
pure  maiden. 


37 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


When,  in  response  to  her  first  cry  for  help,  her  father 
had  come  upon  the  scene,  he  found  the  door  fast  bolted, 
and  as  her  cries  had  ceased  he  believed  that  his  beloved 
daughter  had  been  the  victim  of  a  cruel  outrage.  He  ran, 
therefore,  to  summon  the  guard ;  but  as  they  came 
rushing  up  the  Emperor  opened  the  door  and  came  out. 
He  revealed  his  identity  to  the  excited  Li,  whereupon 
all  present  made  humble  obeisance.  His  Majesty  then 
bade  them  conduct  Sister  Phoenix  to  the  quarters 
occupied  by  his  concubines.  To  her  father  he  gave  a 
thousand  ounces  of  gold  and  raised  him  to  the  rank  of 
a  high  official.  It  was  his  wish  to  bestow  upon  Sister 
Phoenix  the  rank  of  an  Imperial  Concubine  of  the  second 
grade,  were  she  so  inclined.  Humbly  she  declined  the 
honour.  “  Your  maidservant,”  said  she,  “  has  but  a 
little  measure  of  good  fortune  to  expect  :  she  is  not  long 
for  this  world.  Were  I  to  accept  the  rank  which  Your 
Majesty’s  divine  goodness  would  bestow  upon  me,  it 
would  hasten  my  death.  Have  I  not  had  the  im¬ 
measurable  honour  of  finding  favour  in  the  sight  of  the 
‘  World  Honoured  One  ’  ?  Is  not  that  a  sufficient  reward 
for  my  humble  merits  ?  In  all  humility  I  would  beseech 
Your  Majesty  to  consider  your  duty  to  your  people  and 
to  return  speedily  to  the  capital.  By  so  doing  you  will 
give  me  far  greater  happiness  than  by  conferring  honours 
upon  me.” 

The  Emperor  realised  that  her  simple  peasant’s  attire 
served  only  to  enhance  her  radiant  beauty,  and  so  he  did 
not  urge  her  to  exchange  it  for  the  robes  of  a  concubine. 
She  was  ever  at  his  side  in  those  days,  serving  him  at  table 
and  sharing  his  couch.  But  she  never  ceased  to  beg  him 
to  return  to  Peking,  and  at  last,  won  by  her  gentle 
entreaties,  he  consented  to  fix  the  day  for  his  departure. 

Sister  Phoenix  travelled  by  his  side  until  the  cortege 
reached  the  Great  Wall  (forty  miles  from  Peking).  Here 
a  terrible  storm  broke  upon  them,  and  the  party  took 

88 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


shelter  at  a  house  just  inside  the  gate  of  Chu-Yung  kuan. 
Suddenly  Sister  Phoenix  saw  that  the  images  of  the  Four 
Heavenly  Kings,  or  Defenders  of  Buddhism,  which  stand 
guarding  the  entrance,  seemed  to  be  endowed  with  life, 
and  that  they  turned  angry  glances  in  her  direction.  At 
the  sight  she  fainted  and  fell  to  the  ground.  Gently  the 
Emperor  raised  her  and  had  her  borne  to  a  temple  outside 
the  barrier.  He  watched  by  her  bedside  until  she  re¬ 
covered  consciousness,  when  she  said  :  “  Your  handmaid 
knew  full  well  that  she  was  not  destined  long  to  enjoy  the 
sweets  of  life,  or  to  wait  upon  Your  Majesty  in  the  For¬ 
bidden  City.  Let  me  now  leave  you  and  return  to  my 
home.”  The  Emperor  answered  :  “  I  cannot  grant 
that  prayer,  for  I  would  rather  abandon  my  Empire 
than  be  deprived  of  your  sweet  and  gracious  person.” 
Sadly  she  gazed  at  him,  and  then,  with  a  deep  sigh, 
expired. 

His  Majesty  mourned  long  and  deeply  over  the  death 
of  his  favourite,  and  commanded  that  she  be  buried  with 
Imperial  honours  at  the  summit  of  the  pass.  So  they 
built  a  huge  mound  of  yellow  earth  over  her  tomb,  but,  to 
the  amazement  of  all,  in  one  night  the  yellow  earth  became 
white ;  so  powerful  her  virtuous  will,  even  after  death. 
The  Emperor  pondered  long  over  her  advice  concerning 
his  duty  to  attend  to  State  affairs.  Said  he  :  “  If  even  a 
maiden  could  realise  the  responsibility  of  the  head  of  the 
State  towards  his  people,  surely  I  should  profit  by  her 
advice.”  With  that  he  returned  straightway  to  Peking. 
The  historians  record  that  the  Emperor  had  paid  no  heed 
to  the  repeated  entreaties  of  his  officials,  that  he  should 
be  pleased  to  leave  Hsiian-Hua  and  resume  his  place  at 
the  capital  :  how  strange,  they  say,  that  a  humble  peasant 
girl  should  have  been  able  to  persuade  him  to  return  to 
the  path  of  duty  !  Is  it  not  an  example  of  what  the 
Canon  of  History  calls  “  The  softness  of  thejfeminine 
nature  overcoming  a  strong  man’s  will  ”  ? 

39 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


In  the  year  1508  the  triennial  autumn  examination 
took  place  in  Peking  for  the  Masters’  degree.  As  usual, 
thousands  of  scholars  from  all  parts  of  the  provinces  had 
assembled  in  the  metropolis.  The  soothsayers  and  fortune¬ 
tellers  were  all  busily  plying  their  trade  in  booths  just 
outside  the  Ch’ien  Men ;  one  of  them  attracted  particular 
attention  by  proclaiming,  in  a  well-written  notice  exhibited 
outside  his  booth,  that  he  challenged  comparison  with  the 
most  famous  magicians  known  to  history.  He  boasted 
that  he  could  tell  at  once  the  rank  and  antecedents  of 
any  official  who  might  come  to  him  incognito,  and  that  he 
had  never  made  a  mistake.  As  the  days  went  by  his 
fame  increased,  and  there  was  always  a  crowd  around  his 
booth.  Soon  His  Majesty  came  to  hear  of  him,  and 
passing  by  his  booth  one  day,  joined  the  crowd  and  watched 
him  at  his  trade.  The  time  was  11  a.m.  on  the  8th  day 
of  the  Sth  moon.  Suddenly  there  was  noise  and  com¬ 
motion.  The  crowd  swayed  and  parted,  and  through  it 
there  came  rushing  a  scholar  who  seized  hold  of  the  fortune¬ 
teller  and  shouted  :  “You  have  ruined  my  career  for  good 
and  all.  Either  you  or  I  shall  die  for  it.”  The  spectators 
tried  to  separate  the  combatants,  but  without  success. 
The  Emperor  motioned  to  his  attendant,  a  man  of  power¬ 
ful  physique,  to  separate  them,  and  proceeded  to  inquire 
what  all  the  excitement  was  about. 

The  soothsayer  replied  :  “A  few  days  ago  this  man 
came  here  to  consult  me  with  regard  to  his  prospects  in 
the  impending  examination,  and  I  promised  that  he  would 
win  the  first  place.  Now,  having  failed  to  take  his  place 
in  the  examination  hall,  he  comes  here  forsooth  and  blames 
me  for  his  own  unpunctuality.  Much  learning  has  made 
him  mad.” 

At  this,  the  scholar  broke  in  and  said  :  “  Because  you 
foretold  that  I  should  come  out  at  the  head  of  the  list,  my 
friends  gave  me  a  banquet,  at  which  I  became  very  drunk. 
When  at  last  my  servant  managed  to  arouse  me,  I  got  up 

40 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


and  hurried  to  the  examination  hall,  but  the  gates  were 
already  barred.1  Did  you  ever  hear  of  a  non-competitor 
coming  out  at  the  head  of  the  list  ?  Are  you  not,  then,  the 
sole  cause  of  my  undoing  ?  ” 

The  two  men  continued  loudly  disputing,  until  the 
Emperor  said  to  the  soothsayer  :  “  Cease  your  brawling  ! 
Supposing  I  get  this  scholar  admitted  to  the  examination 
hall  and  he  fails  to  come  out  at  the  head  of  the  list,  to  what 
punishment  will  you  submit?  ” 

The  soothsayer  replied  :  “  You  may  gouge  out  one  eye.” 
“  All  right,”  said  the  Emperor,  “  that’s  a  bargain.”  He 
then  took  up  pen  and  paper  from  the  table,  wrote  a  few 
words,  and  sealed  the  document  with  a  small  seal  which 
he  wore  at  his  girdle.  He  then  bade  his  attendant  go 
with  the  scholar  and  deliver  the  paper.  To  the  sooth¬ 
sayer  he  said,  “  Farewell  :  I  shall  return  in  a  fortnight 
to  prove  your  words.”  The  soothsayer  guessed  that 
it  was  the  Emperor,  and  promptly  folded  his  tent  and 
departed. 

Meantime,  the  attendant  and  the  scholar  proceeded 
to  the  examination  hall,  some  two  miles  away.  The  Im¬ 
perial  messenger  then  commanded  the  drums  to  be  beaten, 
as  a  signal  that  he  was  the  bearer  of  a  decree  from  His 
Sacred  Majesty.  The  seals  upon  the  gates  were  speedily 
removed  and  the  locks  opened,  whereupon  the  officials 
on  duty  outside  the  hall  sounded  a  gong.  This  brought 
an  usher  from  within,  who  escorted  the  attendant  and  the 
scholar  up  to  the  main  hall,  where  the  Imperial  examiners 
were  seated.  As  the  Imperial  messenger  approached 
they  all  knelt  :  he  strode  to  the  dais  and  there,  facing 
South,  read  the  decree.  Having  done  so  he  left  to  report 
the  fulfilment  of  his  mission. 

A  censor  and  an  inspector  then  conducted  the  scholar 

1  A  competitor  was  excluded  from  participation  once  the  gates 
had  been  closed,  as  they  could  not  be  re-opened  until  after  the 
examination. 


41 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


to  one  of  the  vacant  cells.  Examiners  and  candidates 
alike  marvelled  that  the  Emperor  should  thus  send  a 
protege  of  his  to  take  part  in  the  examination.  Naturally, 
the  chief  examiners  paid  particular  attention  to  his  papers, 
and  finding  that  his  composition  was  quite  good  and  his 
principles  sound,  they  said  one  to  another  :  “  This  candi¬ 
date  having  been  specially  recommended  by  the  present 
occupant  of  the  Throne,  it  would  be  disrespectful  to  His 
Majesty  if  we  were  to  place  any  other  name  ahead  of  his  on 
the  class  lists.”  So  they  passed  him  at  the  top  of  his  year, 
and  in  reporting  the  fact  to  the  Emperor,  warmly  praised 
the  excellence  of  his  style  and  his  exceptional  gifts.  They 
seized  the  occasion  to  congratulate  the  Emperor  on  being 
so  good  a  judge  of  talent. 

The  Emperor  laughed  loudly  :  “  This  is  surely  Fate,” 
said  he.  As  a  matter  of  fact  he  had  originally  intended 
that  the  scholar  should  be  ploughed,  in  order  that  he 
might  triumph  over  the  soothsayer,  but,  as  luck  would 
have  it,  he  had  been  so  much  engrossed  in  dalliance  with 
the  latest  favourite  of  his  harem,  that  the  whole  thing  had 
escaped  his  memory,  and  he  had  forgotten  to  send  word  to 
the  chief  examiner.  Now  that  the  scholar  had  come  out 
at  the  head  of  the  list,  he  was  deeply  impressed  with  the 
soothsayer’s  prophetic  skill  and  desired  to  engage  his 
services  for  the  Court.  So,  after  sending  messengers  in 
vain,  he  set  out  in  state,  at  the  head  of  a  large  retinue,  to 
look  for  him;  but  the  soothsayer  had  vanished  and  was 
never  seen  again. 


Early  one  spring  morning,  the  Emperor  had  just  left 
the  harem,  and  was  taking  a  drive  in  the  city  before  holding 
his  daily  audience  in  the  Palace,  when  he  met  a  bridal 
procession  on  its  way  to  the  bridegroom’s  house.  The 
insignia  were  borne  by  an  army  of  attendants,  and  the 
magnificence  of  the  equipages  and  of  the  escort  showed  that 
the  bridegroom  was  of  a  distinguished  family.  Much 

42 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


impressed,  the  Emperor  stopped  his  cart  and,  standing  by 
the  roadside,  watched  the  long  cavalcade  go  by.  Just  as 
the  bride’s  chair  drew  near,  he  saw  a  black  giant,  twenty 
feet  high,  standing  in  front  of  it  as  if  to  bar  her  way.  His 
features  were  cruel  and  repulsive  in  the  extreme;  he  was 
clad  in  armour  and  wielded  a  huge  club.  Insolently  he 
stood  there,  until  suddenly  he  perceived  the  Emperor, 
when  he  seemed  to  hesitate,  and  finally  hurried  away  to 
the  head  of  the  cortege.  The  Emperor’s  cart-driver 
had  seen  nothing  of  this  monstrous  apparition.  Greatly 
wondering,  His  Majesty  bade  the  man  drive  on,  following 
in  rear  of  the  procession,  until  they  came  to  the  bride¬ 
groom’s  house,  which  he  perceived  to  be  the  stately  mansion 
of  some  ancient  and  respected  family.  The  Emperor 
alighted  and  went  in  towards  the  main  hall.  The  black 
giant  had  preceded  the  bride’s  chair  and  was  standing 
in  the  courtyard,  but  when  he  saw  the  Son  of  Heaven 
approach,  he  covered  his  face  and  vanished.  His  Majesty 
then  remembered  that  this  particular  day  was  unlucky, 
owing  to  the  power  therein  of  the  Spirit  of  Disaster;  no 
doubt  it  was  this  spirit  which  had  so  strangely  crossed  his 
path.  He  thought  that  whoever  had  chosen  such  an 
unlucky  day  for  a  marriage  was  greatly  to  blame,  and 
determined  to  find  out  who  was  responsible  for  so 
disastrous  a  selection. 

So  he  waited,  while  the  bride  descended  from  her  chair 
and  the  newly  wedded  pair  made  obeisance  to  heaven  and 
earth  in  the  inner  chamber.  After  the  bride  had  been 
duly  conducted  to  the  nuptial  apartment  the  banquet  was 
served,  and  the  host  came  forward  to  invite  the  wedding 
guests  to  take  their  seats.  In  all  sixteen  tables  were 
prepared,  and  the  guests  sat  down  in  their  order  of  seniority 
and  precedence.  The  host  could  see  that  the  Emperor 
was  no  ordinary  visitor,  so  invited  him  to  the  seat  of  honour 
at  the  central  table,  and  himself  came  and  sat  beside  him. 
As  he  did  so,  his  limbs  trembled  as  if  he  were  in  the 

43 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


presence  of  some  divine  being;  he  dared  not  even  ask  his 
guest’s  honourable  name. 

The  Emperor  asked  him  who  the  person  was  who  had 
selected  this  day  for  the  wedding.  The  host  pointed  to 
a  venerable  man  at  the  second  table,  and  said  :  “  He  was 
formerly  a  director  at  the  Court  of  Astronomy,  now 
retired.  He  is  a  past  master  of  his  art ;  any  family  wishing 
to  fix  a  date  for  an  auspicious  event  invariably  secures 
his  services.  He  has  never  yet  been  known  to  fail.” 

“  Ask  him  to  come  here,”  said  the  Emperor,  who  thus 
addressed  the  astrologer  :  “  I  am  told  that  you  are  an 
expert  in  selecting  auspicious  days.  What  made  you 
invoke  disaster  to-day  by  your  cabalistic  arts  ?  ”  The 
old  man  replied  :  “  Not  so  :  it  is  quite  true  that  between 
the  hours  of  three  and  five  this  morning  the  black  Spirit  of 
Disaster,  the  so-called  ‘  Ruler  of  the  Evil  Stars,’  was  due 
to  descend  into  the  world,  but  at  the  same  hour  the 
Fortunate  Star  of  Good  Omen  was  also  destined  to  appear 
among  mortals.  His  benign  influence  routed  the  forces 
of  evil,  and  has  made  the  occasion  auspicious  in  the  extreme. 
So  far  from  portending  ruin,  the  event  is  the  harbinger 
of  much  future  prosperity.” 

The  Emperor  could  think  of  no  way  of  refuting  his 
words,  so  he  said  :  “  I  have  just  composed  the  first  verse 
of  an  antithetical  couplet ;  if  you  can  supply  me  with  the 
second  half,  matching  mine  exactly,  I  will  forgive  you  the 
punishment  which  you  deserve,  if  only  for  bandying 
words  so  plausibly.  Here  is  my  verse  : 

“  The  ruler  of  the  evil  stars  hath  encountered  the  ruler  of  all  mortal 
men.” 

The  old  man  asked  to  be  excused  on  the  plea  of  his  great 
age  and  failing  faculties.  “  Will  you  permit  the  bride¬ 
groom  to  try  his  skill  in  my  stead?  ”  The  Emperor 
agreed,  so  the  bridegroom  was  summoned.  On  hearing 
the  first  verse,  he  replied  without  a  moment’s  hesitation  : 

44 


Ruins  of  the  “Shrine  of  the  Most  High"  at  the  Sheng  Wu  Gate,  near  the  Coal  Hill. 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 

“  The  bright  Star  of  Good  Omen1  has  shone  upon  the  fortunate  bride¬ 
groom  !  ” 

The  Emperor  was  delighted  at  the  prompt  and  fitting 
antithesis  and  said  to  the  assembled  company  :  “  Some 
day  he  will  become  a  doctor  of  the  PXanlin  Academy.” 
The  old  man  then  bade  the  bridegroom  prostrate  himself 
on  the  ground  and  thank  His  Majesty,  who,  seeing  that 
his  identity  had  been  discovered,  mounted  his  carriage  and 
departed. 

The  bridegroom  had  already  attained  his  Master’s 
degree;  after  passing  the  next  year  for  the  doctorate,  he 
attended  at  Court,  together  with  the  other  successful 
competitors,  to  be  presented.  The  Emperor  recognised 
him,  and  appointed  him  to  be  a  Hanlin  compiler,  saying  : 
“  We  were  an  intruder  at  your  wedding  banquet :  this, 
though  belated,  is  Our  wedding  present.” 

1  The  star  thus  named  is  often  used  as  a  figurative  appellation  of  the 
Son  of  Heaven. 


45 


CHAPTER  II 
AN  INFAMOUS  EUNUCH 

Readers  of  China  under  the  Empress  Dowager  may 
remember  how,  when  the  great  Tzii  Hsi  lay  dying,  the 
watchers  by  her  bedside  asked  her,  in  accordance  with 
ancient  custom,  to  pronounce  her  last  words.  “  Never 
again,”  she  said,  “  allow  any  woman  to  hold  the  supreme 
power  in  the  State.  It  is  against  the  house-law  of  our 
dynasty  and  should  be  strictly  forbidden.  Be  careful 
not  to  allow  eunuchs  to  meddle  in  Government  matters. 
The  Ming  dynasty  was  brought  to  ruin  by  eunuchs,  and 
its  fate  should  be  a  warning  to  my  people.” 

Tzu  Hsi  knew  well  the  law,  though  she  observed  it  not 
herself.  She  was  deeply  read  in  the  history  of  China,  but 
in  the  matter  of  the  eunuchs’  power  at  Court,  she  failed 
to  benefit  by  its  teaching.  Although  her  edicts  fre¬ 
quently  denounced  the  corrupt  and  demoralising  influence 
of  the  “  rats  and  foxes  ”  who  infested  her  Palace,  de¬ 
scribing  them  as  “  fawning  sycophants  ”  and  “  artful 
minions,”  against  whom  the  Throne  must  ever  be  sternly 
vigilant,  she  nevertheless  allowed  her  favourites,  An 
Te-hai  and  Li  Lien-ying,  to  wield  an  authority  only  little 
inferior  to  her  own.  She  knew  that,  not  only  under  the 
Mings  but  under  the  Han  and  Tang  dynasties,  the  authority 
of  the  Sovereign  had  been  usurped  and  degraded  by  these 
myrmidons,  to  the  ruin  of  the  State.  Yet  she  took  no 
steps  to  rid  her  own  Court  of  evils  which  all  her  best 
advisers  denounced  and  which,  under  her  successor,  Lung 

46 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


Yu,  became  no  small  factor  in  the  final  decline  and  fall 
of  the  Manchu  power. 

When  Tzu  Hsi  spoke  of  the  ruin  of  the  Ming  dynasty 
by  the  eunuchs,  she  had  in  mind  the  history  of  the  Emperor 
Wan  Li  and  his  three  successors,  the  last  of  the  Mings, 
and  that  of  the  infamous  Chief  Eunuch  Wei  Chung-hsien, 
whose  memory  is  universally  execrated  to  this  day  by 
the  Chinese  people.  The  tale  of  this  foul  creature’s  evil 
deeds  and  of  the  calamities  which  he  brought  upon  the 
Throne  and  people  of  China,  sheds  no  little  light  on  the 
dark  places  of  life  in  the  Forbidden  City,  where,  beneath 
the  dignities  and  splendours  prescribed  by  venerable 
tradition,  lie  grim  shadows  of  death-dealing  intrigue,  of 
cold-blooded  cruelty  and  lust  and  greed ;  where,  close  to 
the  polished  surface  of  Sacred  Edicts  and  Confucian 
philosophy,  lurk  the  elemental  passions  and  insatiable 
ambitions  of  Oriental  despotism.  The  life  story  of  Wei 
Chung-hsien  reveals  the  seamy  side  of  China’s  imperial 
tapestry  of  state-craft.  It  serves  to  remind  us,  firstly, 
that  it  is  the  human  equation,  the  impulses  and  instincts 
of  dominant  individuals  which,  far  more  than  any  theories 
of  government,  shape  the  destinies  of  peoples ;  secondly, 
that  the  human  equation,  predetermined  in  its  essentials 
by  climatic  and  economic  environment,  remains  unchanged, 
and  to  a  great  extent  unchangeable,  beneath  the  surface 
of  national  life. 

The  Emperor  Wan  Li  ascended  the  Throne  in  1573  as 
a  child,  and  being  educated  under  the  influence  of  the 
women  and  eunuchs  of  the  Palace,  remained  under  that 
influence  all  his  days.  During  the  last  twenty  years  of 
his  reign  he  refused  to  transact  affairs  of  State  through 
the  proper  officials,  conducting  all  the  business  of  Govern¬ 
ment  through  his  principal  eunuchs,  and  through  the 
Imperial  Concubine  Cheng,  who  was  the  mother  of  his 
favourite  son,  Prince  Fu. 

Wan  Li’s  eldest  son,  Ch’ang  Lo,  was  a  Prince  of  high 

47 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


promise,  of  strong  and  virtuous  disposition,  but  the  evil 
influence  of  Lady  Cheng  and  the  eunuchs  poisoned  the 
Emperor’s  mind  against  him,  so  that  the  two  rarely  saw 
each  other.  Eventually,  in  1615,  when  Ch’ang  Lo  was 
thirty-four  years  of  age,  the  Lady  Cheng,  desiring  to 
secure  the  succession  for  her  dissolute  son,  Prince  Fu, 
conspired  with  her  brother  Cheng  Kuo-tai  and  two 
eunuchs,  named  Pang  Pao  and  Liu  Ch’eng,  to  have  the 
Heir  Apparent  murdered.  Their  plans  were  laid  with 
great  care  and  subtlety,  but  they  failed,  owing  to  the 
stupidity  of  their  hired  assassins  and  to  the  courage  of 
Ch’ang  Lo’s  personal  attendants.  This  attempt  on  the 
life  of  the  Heir  Apparent  created  a  profound  impression 
on  the  public  mind,  not  only  at  Peking  but  in  the  pro¬ 
vinces  ;  it  revealed  to  the  nation  the  true  state  of  affairs 
in  the  Palace,  and  laid  the  foundations  of  that  distrust 
and  disrespect  for  the  dynasty  which  were  subsequently 
manifested  in  Li  Tzu-ch’eng’s  rebellion.  Shortly  before 
sunset  of  an  evening  in  June  1615,  a  man,  armed  with  a 
stout  cudgel  of  jujube  wood,  forced  his  way  into  the 
residence  of  the  Heir  Apparent,  the  Palace  of  Benevolent 
Blessings,  and  having  felled  the  eunuch  on  guard  at  the 
outer  door,  made  his  way  to  Ch’ang  Lo’s  private  apart¬ 
ments;  but  there,  hesitating,  he  was  overpowered  and 
disarmed.  Cast  into  prison,  at  first  he  feigned  madness, 
but  subsequently  attempted  to  explain  his  action.  His 
name,  he  said,  was  Chang  Ch’ai,  and  he  lived  in  a  small 
village  not  far  from  the  Imperial  Eastern  Mausolea.  The 
Lady  Cheng  had  sent  some  of  her  eunuchs  to  build  a  shrine 
near  to  the  tombs,  and  these  men  had  made  a  brick  kiln 
there,  close  by  a  pile  of  brushwood  which  he  had  collected 
for  fuel.  Some  one  had  set  fire  to  the  brushwood.  En¬ 
raged  at  the  loss,  he  had  come  to  Peking  to  lodge  a  com¬ 
plaint  at  the  Palace,  and  on  entering  the  Forbidden  City 
had  met  a  man  who  told  him  that  he  must  carry  a  cudgel 
as  a  sign  that  he  was  bearing  a  petition.  On  reaching 

48 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


the  Heir  Apparent’s  residence  he  had  been  angered  by 
the  eunuch,  but  meant  no  harm  to  the  Prince. 

Complying  with  the  Heir  Apparent’s  request,  the 
Emperor  ordered  a  formal  inquiry  into  the  case.  The 
officials  entrusted  with  the  examination  of  the  prisoner, 
shrewdly  suspecting  that  the  Lady  Cheng  and  her  brother 
were  at  the  bottom  of  the  affair,  endeavoured  to  hush  it 
up  and  to  treat  it  as  the  work  of  a  lunatic.  One  member 
of  the  Court  of  Inquiry  refused,  however,  to  agree  with 
the  rest,  who  wished  to  have  Chang  Ch’ai  beheaded  with¬ 
out  further  ado.  He  insisted  on  a  thorough  investigation, 
and  examined  the  prisoner  in  private.  Eventually  a  con¬ 
fession  was  extracted;  the  attempt  at  murder  had  been 
instigated  by  one  of  the  eunuchs,  with  promise  of  rich 
reward. 

This  evidence  being  reported  to  the  Court,  a  new 
Commission  was  appointed,  which,  after  applying  torture, 
elicited  a  further  confession.  The  instigators  of  the  crime 
were  declared  to  be  the  eunuch  Pang  Pao  and  another 
named  Liu  Ch’eng,  both  henchmen  of  the  Lady  Cheng. 
Chang  admitted  that  he  had  been  in  their  pay  for  three 
years,  and  that  they  had  told  him  if  he  succeeded  in  killing 
the  Prince  he  should  never  want  for  meat  and  drink. 

At  this  stage  of  the  case  public  indignation  began  to 
be  displayed  in  the  capital,  and  a  Censor  was  emboldened 
to  accuse  the  Lady  Cheng’s  brother  of  connivance  in  the 
crime.  In  a  plain-spoken  memorial  he  urged  that  the 
Emperor  should  order  the  immediate  arrest  of  the  two 
men  named  by  the  prisoner  and,  if  implicated,  the  Imperial 
Concubine’s  brother ;  and  it  would  be  her  duty  to  request 
the  Emperor  to  have  him  decapitated.  If  the  prisoner 
Chang  were  now  put  out  of  the  way,  and  the  case  hushed 
up,  the  world  would  know  that  the  Lady  Cheng  and  her 
brother  were  guilty. 

The  Emperor  was  greatly  disturbed  by  this  memorial. 
Being  himself  of  a  lazily  gentle  disposition,  he  had  no 
e  19 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


conception  of  the  depths  of  cruelty  and  villainy  about 
him,  and  would  have  wished  to  avoid  the  further  inquiries 
that  threatened  to  involve  the  good  name  of  his  favourite 
consort.  But  the  officials  and  Censorate  continued  to 
urge  that  the  case  must  be  thoroughly  investigated;  the 
city  was  in  a  ferment  of  excitement,  and  the  Palace  gates 
were  closed.  A  Censor  now  asked  that  the  market  days 
of  the  Forbidden  City  should  be  temporarily  suspended, 
and  that  a  strict  watch  of  police  be  maintained  at  the 
Palace  gates,  to  guard  against  further  attacks.  The 
Court  declined  to  close  the  market,  but  ordered  that  for 
the  time  being  no  metal  utensils  or  weapons  be  sold 
therein.1 

At  this  juncture,  the  Grand  Secretary  Fang  Tsung-che 
intervened,  and  bluntly  warned  the  Emperor  that  any 
further  hesitation  in  regard  to  the  open  trial  of  Chang 
Ch’ai  could  not  fail  to  produce  a  bad  impression  and 
probably  dangerous  consequences.  He  reminded  the 
Sovereign  that  one  of  the  conspirators,  Liu  Ch’eng,  had 
already  been  accused  of  witchcraft  against  His  Majesty. 
Wan  Li  was  so  greatly  impressed  by  this,  that  he  turned 
against  his  favourite  concubine  and  angrily  bade  her 
“  look  out  for  herself.”  Terrified  at  the  turn  affairs  were 
taking,  the  Lady  Cheng  sought  out  the  Heir  Apparent  and 
begged  his  forgiveness  and  help.  The  Prince  magnani¬ 
mously  forgave  her. 

On  the  following  morning,  His  Majesty  went  to  the 
Heir  Apparent’s  Palace  and  held  an  audience  of  the  entire 
Court.  In  the  presence  of  all,  he  took  his  son  by  the 
hand  and  said  :  “  You  all  see  this  dutiful  son  of  mine. 
Know  that  I  love  him  dearly.  Had  I  intended  to  kill 
him,  I  should  have  done  so  long  ago.  Why  do  you  all 
try  to  create  discord  between  father  and  son?  ”  Then 

1  Under  the  Ming  dynasty,  the  gates  of  the  Palace  were  always 
opened  on  these  so-called  market-days,1 |to  allow  of  the  removal  of 
refuse  accumulated  in  the  Forbidden  City. 

50 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


he  called  the  Chamberlain  to  summon  the  Heir  Apparent’s 
three  sons,  who  were  conducted  to  the  dais  by  the 
Emperor’s  side.  He  bade  the  Court  look  well  at  them. 
“  These  three  grandsons  of  mine  are  now  grown  lads,” 
he  exclaimed;  “what  nonsenseis  this  that  you  talk?” 
He  asked  Ch’ang  Lo  whether  there  was  anything  he  wished 
to  say  :  “  Tell  me  the  whole  truth  and  conceal  nought.” 
The  Heir  replied  :  “  This  wretched  lunatic  Chang  Ch’ai 
ought  to  be  put  to  death  at  once,  and  so  let  the  matter 
end.”  Then,  turning  to  the  Court,  the  Prince  went  on  : 
“  All  of  you  can  see  the  affection  which  exists  between  my 
father  and  me.  These  nonsensical  rumours  which  you  have 
been  spreading  make  you  to  appear  as  disloyal  Ministers 
and  me  as  an  unfeeling  son.”  Wan  Li  called  out :  “  Do 
you  hear  what  the  Prince  has  said  ?  ”  He  repeated  these 
words  thrice,  and  the  whole  Court  made  obeisance. 

Next  day  the  wretched  Chang  Ch’ai  was  decapitated 
and,  at  the  intercession  of  Ch’ang  Lo,  the  instigators  of 
his  crime  were  pardoned.  Dearly  was  the  magnanimous 
Prince  to  pay  for  this  act  of  short-sighted  clemency.  For 
the  time  being,  the  eunuchs  conspired  no  more  against  his 
life,  content  with  the  power  they  enjoyed  under  his  father; 
but  their  enmity  against  him  brooded,  biding  its  time,  in 
the  dark  places  of  the  Forbidden  City. 

In  1620,  Wan  Li  lay  upon  his  death-bed,  but  by  order 
of  the  Lady  Cheng  his  Ministers  of  State  and  the  Heir 
Apparent  were  not  permitted  to  enter  the  Presence.  Once 
more  rumour  flew,  trumpet-tongued,  through  Peking,  and 
a  brave  Censor,  named  Yang  Lien,  urged  the  Grand 
Secretaries  to  do  their  duty  and  to  insist  upon  admission. 
The  Grand  Secretary  Fang,  after  much  persuasion,  pro¬ 
ceeded,  at  the  head  of  his  colleagues,  to  the  Emperor’s 
bedchamber.  His  Majesty  was  evidently  moribund. 
Yang  Lien  and  another  honest  Censor,  Tso  Kuang-tou, 
seeing  this,  insisted  that  the  Heir  Apparent,  who  was 
anxiously  waiting  without,  should  be  summoned  to  re- 

51 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


ceive  his  father’s  last  commands,  to  tend  him  at  the  last, 
and  to  “  taste  his  medicine.”  He  was  brought  in  just  as 
Wan  Li  expired. 

Ch’ang  Lo,  known  in  history  by  the  dynastic  title  of 
Kuang  Tsung  (Glorious  Ancestor),  might  have  saved  the 
dynasty  had  he  been  able  to  protect  himself  against  the 
murderous  hatred  of  the  Lady  Cheng  and  her  eunuch 
confederates,  but  his  life  lasted  less  than  two  months 
from  the  date  of  his  accession.  He  died  of  slow  poison¬ 
ing  by  arsenic,  undoubtedly  administered  by  his  eunuch 
attendants. 

The  Lady  Cheng,  as  usual,  played  craftily  for  safety, 
whilst  steadily  pursuing  her  ambitious  designs.  Shortly 
after  the  new  Emperor’s  accession,  she  sent  him  gifts  of 
great  price,  jade  and  pearls  and  eight  beautiful  maidens; 
at  the  same  time  she  made  friends  with  his  favourite  concu¬ 
bine,  the  Lady  Li,  and  urged  her  to  persuade  the  Emperor 
to  confer  upon  herself  the  title  of  Empress  Dowager,  a 
suggestion  which  evoked  immediate  and  unanimous 
opposition  from  the  Board  of  Ceremonies. 

The  Emperor’s  illness  rapidly  increased;  it  was  aggra¬ 
vated  shortly  before  his  death  by  one  of  the  eunuchs 
(Tsui  Wen-sheng)  administering  an  extremely  violent 
purgative.  The  Court  became  seriously  alarmed,  whilst 
in  the  city  the  report  was  spread  that  the  Son  of  Heaven 
was  being  done  to  death  by  the  Imperial  Concubines. 
Once  more  the  brave  Censors  Yang  Lien  and  Tso  Kuang- 
tou  came  forward,  demanding  that,  in  conformity  with 
inviolable  tradition,  the  Lady  Cheng  be  compelled  to 
depart  from  the  Palace  of  Celestial  Purity  (in  which  Wan 
Li  had  died)  where  no  female  is  allowed  to  sleep.  The 
Lady  Cheng  at  first  refused  to  move,  but  eventually, 
fearful  of  popular  clamour,  she  complied. 

Yang  Lien  next  proceeded  to  impeach  the  eunuch  who 
had  administered  the  purgative  to  His  Majesty.  “  This 
villain  is  no  physician,”  he  said,  “  and  ought  not  to  be 

52 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


allowed  to  conduct  his  wanton  experiments  upon  the 
divine  person.  If  he  knew  anything  about  medicine,  he 
must  be  aware  that  tonics,  and  not  purgatives,  are  needed 
in  a  weakening  complaint.  What  the  Emperor  requires 
is  strengthening  physic,  at  a  time  when  he  is  naturally 
suffering  from  the  shock  of  his  sire’s  death  and  is  also 
overworked  with  State  affairs.  It  is  at  such  a  time  that 
the  eunuch  gives  an  aperient.  Rumours  declare  that  the 
Emperor  is  not  in  good  hands,  and  that  there  are  designs 
against  his  life.  Tsui  Wen-sheng  excuses  himself  on  the 
ground  that  the  Emperor’s  weakness  is  due  to  debauchery, 
but  the  truth  is  that  he  calumniates  His  Majesty’s  morals 
as  well  as  increasing  his  sickness.  Such  a  man  deserves 
to  be  eaten.  Why  does  Your  Majesty  allow  such  traitors 
at  your  elbows  ?  ”  Another  Censor  urged  the  Grand 
Secretary  to  take  more  care  of  the  Emperor’s  sacred 
person,  and  added  that  a  wrong  prescription  had  evidently 
been  given. 

The  Court  officials  were  all  summoned  to  the  Imperial 
bedchamber,  a  side  apartment  in  the  Palace  of  Celestial 
Purity.  A  special  decree  had  previously  ordered  Yang 
Lien  to  repair  thither  for  audience.  The  courtiers  grouped 
themselves  about  the  Emperor’s  bedside.  The  dying 
Monarch  looked  closely  at  Yang  Lien  as  if  he  meant  to 
consign  his  sons  to  his  protection.  He  then  addressed  the 
Court  :  “  I  am  glad  to  see  you  all,”  he  said.  The  Grand 
Secretary  replied  :  “  Pray,  Sire,  be  more  careful  about  the 
medicine  you  are  receiving.”  The  Monarch  rejoined  : 

“  I  have  taken  none  for  ten  days.”  He  then  appointed 
the  concubine  Li  to  be  secondary  Consort.  The  lady  there¬ 
upon  sent  for  the  Heir  Apparent,  and  in  the  presence  of 
the  Court  asked  him  to  demand  for  her  the  title  of  Empress. 
He  did  so,  but  his  father  refused  to  grant  the  request  and 
closed  the  audience.  The  Court  was  greatly  astonished  at 
her  audacity. 

The  Emperor  lingered  on,  growing  daily  worse.  Five 

53 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


days  later  the  last  agony  had  begun,  and  once  more  he 
summoned  his  Ministers  to  a  farewell  audience.  As  they 
pressed  him  to  nominate  his  successor,  he  pointed  to  his 
eldest  son,  and  said  :  “  Help  him  to  be  a  good  man.” 
Then  he  spoke  of  the  Imperial  tomb.  The  courtiers  pre¬ 
tended  to  misunderstand,  and  asked  if  he  referred  to  his 
father’s  tomb  north  of  Peking.  “  No,  I  mean  my  own.” 
They  answered  :  “  May  Your  Majesty  live  for  ever;  why 
speak  of  this  now  ?  ”  The  Emperor  then  asked  :  “  Where 
is  the  official  from  the  Court  of  Banquets  who  was  to  give 
me  some  medicine  ?  ”  The  Grand  Secretary  replied  : 
“  The  Secretary  Li  K’o-shao  claims  that  he  possesses  a 
marvellous  remedy,  but  we  dare  not  recommend  it.” 
The  Emperor  bade  him  be  sent  for,  to  feel  his  pulse.  He 
was  ushered  in,  gave  a  very  fluent  diagnosis  of  the  disease, 
and  suggested  his  remedy.  The  Emperor  was  pleased, 
and  agreed  to  take  the  drug.  Li  was  told  to  discuss  the 
matter  with  the  doctors  and  the  Ministers,  but  they  came 
to  no  decision.  The  Grand  Secretary  Liu  Yi-ching  re¬ 
marked  that  this  particular  remedy  had  been  taken  by  two 
men  in  his  native  place :  one  had  recovered  and  the  other 
had  died,  so  it  could  not  be  called  an  infallible  prescription. 
The  Board  of  Rites  thought  it  would  be  dangerous  to  ad¬ 
minister  it,  but  while  they  were  still  discussing  they  were 
again  summoned  to  the  Emperor’s  presence.  Li  K’o-shao 
then  hastily  compounded  the  medicine,  the  famous  red 
pill,  and  gave  it  to  the  Emperor,  who  swallowed  it.  He 
gasped  slightly  and  exclaimed  :  “  My  loyal  servants  !  ” 

After  taking  the  medicine,  the  Emperor  dismissed  his 
Ministers,  who  waited  in  an  ante-chamber.  In  a  short 
time  a  decree  was  brought  out  to  them,  which  said  : 
“  Our  person  is  much  better.”  At  sunset  Li  K’o-shao 
was  permitted  to  administer  another  red  pill,  and  at  dawn 
next  day  the  Monarch  “  ascended  on  the  dragon,”  aged 
thirty-nine. 

Upon  the  Emperor’s  death,  his  would-be  Empress,  the 

54 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


concubine  Li,  threw  off  all  disguise  and  came  boldly  to 
the  front  with  her  chief  henchman,  the  eunuch  Wei  Chin- 
shang  (who  subsequently  received  from  the  new  Emperor 
the  name  of  Wei  Chung-hsien,  meaning,  Wei,  the  loyal 
and  good).  These  two  and  their  troop  of  eunuchs  now 
held  the  Palace  against  all  comers,  kept  close  watch  on 
the  Heir  to  the  Throne,  and  issued  orders  forbidding  the 
usual  mourning  of  Ministers  at  the  deceased  Sovereign’s 
bier.  Once  more  the  Censor  Yang  Lien  braved  the  powers 
of  darkness  in  high  places.  Forcing  his  way  through  the 
eunuchs,  he  demanded  to  see  the  Heir  Apparent.  The 
concubine  Li  sent  word  that  the  young  Emperor  had  left 
the  Palace,  but  that  he  would  soon  return.  She  then 
actually  endeavoured  to  smuggle  him  out  of  the  For¬ 
bidden  City,  but  his  movements  were  discovered,  and  he 
was  conducted  back  to  his  Palace.  Under  the  direction 
of  Yang  Lien  he  ascended  the  palanquin  and  received  the 
obeisances  of  the  Court.  It  was  proposed  that  he  should 
formally  ascend  the  Throne  without  delay,  but  Yang  Lien 
deprecated  unceremonious  haste,  since  the  succession  was 
not  contested.  At  the  same  time  he  took  vigorous  steps 
to  preserve  law  and  order  in  Peking. 

The  young  Emperor  T’ien  Ch’i  (known  in  history  as 
Hsi  Tsung)  was  but  fifteen  years  of  age  when  called  to 
ascend  the  Dragon  Throne ;  a  weakly  lad,  of  small  stature, 
and  utterly  lacking  in  strength  of  character.  From  the 
date  of  his  accession,  the  power  of  the  eunuchs,  hitherto 
kept  in  check  by  the  firmness  and  moral  dignity  which  his 
grandfather,  Wan  Li,  had  always  displayed  at  critical 
moments,  increased  beyond  all  bounds,  until  their  leader, 
Wei  Chung-hsien,  became  the  autocratic  ruler  of  the 
Empire.  With  the  death  of  Kuang  Tsung,  the  Lady 
Cheng  could  no  longer  hope  to  secure  the  Throne  for 
her  son,  the  dissolute  Prince  Fu,  so  that  gradually  her 
influence  and  her  interest  in  Palace  politics  became  less 
personal  and  less  aggressive. 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


Immediately  upon  the  death  of  Kuang  Tsung,  a  struggle 
for  supreme  power  began  between  the  concubine  Li  and 
the  new  Emperor’s  foster-mother,  the  fascinating  and 
notoriously  wicked  woman  known  to  history  as  Madame 
K’o.  The  Emperor’s  mother  having  died  years  before, 
it  was  the  ambition  of  Lady  Li,  through  her  influence  over 
him  and  by  the  power  of  the  eunuchs,  to  arrogate  to 
herself  the  position  of  an  Empress  Dowager,  and  to  rule 
the  Empire.  To  this  end  she  began  by  ignoring  the 
dynastic  law  which  required  her  to  remove  from  the 
Palace  of  her  late  lord,  announcing  her  intention  of  re¬ 
siding  there  with  the  young  Emperor,  and  she  was  able  to 
enlist  on  her  side  the  sympathies  of  the  Grand  Secretary 
Fang  Tsung-che.  But  the  Censor  Yang  Lien  and  his 
colleague  Tso  Kuang-tou,  backed  by  an  honest  eunuch 
named  Wang  An,  were  not  disposed  to  acquiesce  in  such 
irregularities.  They  protested  most  energetically,  and 
put  in  a  joint,  memorial  demanding  that  the  concubine  Li 
should  forthwith  take  her  departure  from  the  Central 
Palace  to  that  of  the  Whirring  Phoenixes.  Tso  pointed 
out  that  an  Emperor  of  fifteen  required  no  mother  to 
attend  him,  and  that  if  such  a  breach  of  custom  were 
permitted,  China  might  be  afflicted  by  another  usurpation 
of  power  like  that  of  the  Empress  Wu  in  the  T’ang 
dynasty. 

At  this  the  Lady  Li  was  very  wroth,  and  sent  a  eunuch 
to  summon  Tso  to  her  presence ;  but  he  declined,  saying  : 
“  I  am  the  servant  of  the  Son  of  Heaven;  his  orders  only 
will  I  obey.”  Yang  Lien,  discussing  the  matter  angrily 
with  the  Grand  Secretary,  observed  :  “  Even  if  the 

Emperor’s  own  mother  were  alive,  he  must  take  pre¬ 
cedence  over  her.  What  manner  of  woman  is  the  concu¬ 
bine  Li  that  she  dares  thus  insult  the  dignity  of  the 
Throne?” 

As  some  of  the  eunuchs  showed  signs  of  a  desire  to  support 
Lady  Li’s  action,  Yang  announced  his  intention  of  re- 

56 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


maining  in  the  Palace  until  she  had  moved  out.  To  those 
who  sided  with  the  Grand  Secretary  he  said  :  “  Let  the 
woman  Li  go  to  the  Temple  of  Ancestors  and  state  her 
demands  before  the  sacred  shrines.  Are  you  all  in  her 
pay?  Let  her  kill  me  if  she  can.  I  will  not  move  until 
she  does.” 

Faced  with  this  crisis,  on  a  clear  issue  where  public 
opinion  and  the  law  were  all  against  her,  the  Lady  Li 
made  a  virtue  of  necessity  and  evacuated  the  Palace,  but 
not  before  her  retainers  had  looted  much  of  its  store  of 
gold  ingots.  The  chroniclers  report  that  Yang’s  hair  and 
moustache  turned  completely  white  during  these  days  of 
danger.  But  he  had  won  the  day,  and  from  this  point  the 
influence  and  activities  of  Lady  Li  waned  rapidly  at  Court. 
Certain  of  the  eunuchs  of  her  immediate  following  en¬ 
deavoured  to  enlist  for  her  the  sympathies  of  the  high 
officials  of  the  Court,  by  spreading  rumours  that  it  was 
her  intention  to  commit  suicide  in  order  to  escape  further 
persecution.  Hereupon  a  Censor  demanded  that  the 
Emperor  should  definitely  communicate  to  the  Grand 
Secretariat  his  decision  in  regard  to  her,  in  order  to  allay 
these  unseemly  rumours  of  the  eunuchs.  There  is  every 
reason  to  believe  that  this  action  of  the  Censor’s  was  in¬ 
spired  not,  like  Yang  Lien’s,  by  pure  motives  of  loyalty 
to  the  Throne,  but  by  the  party  of  the  eunuch  Wei  Chung- 
hsien,  who  now  abandoned  the  cause  of  Lady  Li  and 
became  the  close  confederate  of  Madame  K’o,  the  foster- 
mother.  Beyond  all  doubt  feminine  jealousy  and  the 
hand  of  Madame  K’o  were  behind  the  decree  which  the 
boy  Emperor  proceeded  to  issue  in  reply  to  the  Censor’s 
memorial.  It  said  : 

“  When  I  was  a  boy  the  Lady  Li  used  so  to  bully  my 
sacred  mother  that  she  fell  sick  and  died.  To  the  end  of 
my  days  I  shall  bear  her  ill-will  for  this.  Also,  when  my 
father  lay  dying,  she  laid  violent  hands  on  my  person  and 
demanded  to  be  made  Empress  Consort.  At  that  time  I 

57 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


was  living  in  the  Palace  of  Benevolent  Blessings;  every 
day  she  would  send  her  two  Chief  Eunuchs  to  compel  me 
to  submit  all  State  papers  for  her  perusal.  I  have  now 
transferred  her  to  the  Palace  of  Whirring  Phoenixes,  in 
filial  remembrance  of  the  love  my  father  bore  to  her.  I 
do  not  propose  to  involve  her  in  the  punishment  which 
will  be  meted  out  to  her  satellites  for  stealing  valuables 
from  the  Palace.” 

A  little  later  and  the  Lady  Li’s  downfall  was  complete. 
Another  decree  of  the  Emperor  deprived  her  of  her  rank 
as  concubine,  “  in  order  to  comfort  his  mother  in  heaven,” 
while  continuing  her  maintenance  grant,  “  in  order  to 
show  honour  to  his  father,”  a  typical  Chinese  “  face¬ 
saving  ”  solution.  From  this  moment  Wei  Chung-hsien 
and  his  confederate  Madame  K’o  stand  forth  in  absolute 
and  almost  undisputed  authority.  Under  Wan  Li,  the 
Chief  Eunuch  had  ruled  the  capital  and  chastised  the 
Court  with  whips;  he  now  proceeded  to  chastise  it  with 
scorpions. 

The  first  noteworthy  indication  of  their  vengeful  and 
bloodthirsty  power  was  given  when  they  did  to  death  the 
loyal  eunuch  Wang  An,  who  had  dared  to  support  the 
Censor  Yang  Lien  in  his  fight  for  clean  government.  Wei 
Chung-hsien  forged  and  uttered  an  Imperial  decree  con¬ 
demning  Wang  to  death,  and  in  order  to  prevent  any 
chance  of  his  being  reprieved,  had  him  murdered  in 
prison.  Yang  Lien,  who  might  have  saved  this  honest 
man,  had  already  left  Peking,  and  gone  into  retirement 
at  his  home.  In  applying  for  permission  to  resign,  he 
had  boldly  told  the  young  Emperor  that,  having  done  his 
duty  in  cleansing  the  Palace  of  the  usurping  concubine, 
he  desired  only  to  leave  the  capital,  for  his  straightforward 
nature  could  not  brook  the  sycophants  and  traitors  who 
surrounded  the  Throne.  He  was  to  pay  dearly  for  his 
courage. 

The  young  Emperor  was  only  too  willing  to  allow  all 

58 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


the  business  of  the  State  to  pass  into  the  hands  of  the 
masterful  eunuch  and  of  the  woman  K’o,  who  exercised 
so  baneful  an  influence  over  him.  He  devoted  himself 
continually  to  his  hobby  of  carpentry,  which  Wei  Chung- 
hsien  encouraged.  The  eunuch  would  wait  until  he  was 
busy  with  plane  and  saw  and  then  go  to  him  asking  for 
instructions  concerning  some  routine  question  of  govern¬ 
ment  or  one  of  the  day’s  memorials.  Hsi  Tsung,  hating 
to  be  disturbed,  would  tell  him  to  settle  the  business  as 
he  thought  fit;  and  thus,  little  by  little,  the  eunuch 
usurped  all  the  functions  of  the  Sovereign.  The  Emperor 
Ch’ien  Lung,  commenting  on  the  causes  of  the  Ming 
dynasty’s  ruin,  ascribed  it  partly  to  “  Hsi  Tsung’s  infatuate 
interest  in  mean  and  cunning  handicrafts,  which  brought 
him  into  competition  with  workmen.  Eunuchs,”  he  wrote, 
“  have  always  tried  to  engage  their  Sovereign’s  attention 
in  ignoble  pursuits,  so  that  they  might  freely  pursue  their 
ambitious  designs.  In  all  ages,  bad  men  are  the  same  in 
their  ways ;  the  pity  is  that  Sovereigns  should  be  so  blind 
as  to  fall  into  the  snares  prepared  for  them.” 

During  the  seven  years  of  his  calamitous  reign,  one  good 
influence,  and  one  only,  saved  the  young  Emperor  from 
utter  degradation,  and  led  good  men  occasionally  to  hope 
that  lie  might  in  time  cast  off  his  bondage  and  assert  the 
Imperial  dignity  of  his  Throne.  This  was  the  influence 
of  his  consort,  the  “  Precious  Pearl,”  in  whom  dignity, 
virtue  and  high  courage  were  combined  to  a  degree  which 
make  her  one  of  the  most  admirable  women  in  China’s 
history,  and  indeed  in  the  history  of  the  world.  Her 
gentle  and  steadfast  character  shines  brightly  to  this  day 
against  the  dark  background  of  those  evil  times,  her  lofty 
ideals,  patience  and  loyalty  smell  sweet  and  blossom, 
even  now,  amidst  the  dust  and  ruins  of  a  degenerate 
age.  Seldom  indeed  has  history  recorded  a  nobler  life,  or 
a  more  pathetic  death.  We  make  no  apology  for  digressing 
at  this  point,  to  tell  the  romantic  story  of  her  youth  and 

59 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


of  her  selection  to  be  the  Empress  Consort  of  China’s  weak 
and  dissolute  Monarch. 

In  the  winter  of  the  year  1612,  a  student  of  K’ai  Feng-fu, 
named  Chang  Kuo-chi,  found  lying  by  the  roadside  a  little 
girl,  aged  six,  and  taking  her  to  his  home,  adopted  her  as 
his  daughter,  by  the  name  of  Chang  Yen.  Her  “  style  ” 
was  “  Precious  Pearl.”  He  attended  carefully  to  her 
education  and  she  proved  remarkably  intelligent  and  dili¬ 
gent  in  study.  Chang  Kuo-chi  had  intended  her  to  marry 
his  son,  but  was  dissuaded  from  this  course  by  a  Buddhist 
priest  who,  after  casting  her  horoscope,  foretold  for  her  a 
far  more  exalted  position.  In  1620,  the  year  of  the  death 
of  Wan  Li,  the  dissolute  Prince  Fu  (son  of  Lady  Cheng) 
came  to  take  up  his  fief  of  ITonan,  and  forthwith  sent 
eunuchs  to  search  through  the  city  of  Kaifeng  for  damsels 
worthy  to  enter  his  harem.  One  of  the  eunuchs  came  to 
Chang’s  house,  and  seeing  “  Precious  Pearl,”  then  aged 
fourteen,  bade  her  accompany  him  to  the  Prince’s  Palace, 
but  the  girl  indignantly  repelled  him,  threatening  that  if 
he  laid  a  hand  upon  her  she  would  commit  suicide. 

In  the  year  (1621)  following  the  death  of  the  Emperor 
Wan  Li  and  his  unfortunate  son,  the  Emperor  Kuang 
Tsung,  the  young  Emperor  Hsi  Tsung,  then  aged  sixteen, 
proclaimed  his  intention  of  solemnising  his  marriage.  The 
whole  Empire  was  notified  that  comely  maidens  between 
the  ages  of  thirteen  and  sixteen  were  eligible ;  after  which 
the  eunuchs  made  an  eliminating  inspection.  Those  whose 
height  or  figure  failed  to  reach  the  required  standard  were 
weeded  out,  until  the  number  was  reduced  to  4000.  On  the 
following  day  a  much  more  careful  scrutiny  was  conducted 
by  the  two  head  eunuchs,  who  made  copious  notes  of  each 
damsel’s  features,  size  of  nose,  colour  of  hair,  shape  of  waist 
and  length  of  foot.  Each  maiden  was  required  to  state 
clearly  her  name,  lineage  and  age ;  if  the  timbre  of  the  voice 
did  not  satisfy  the  eunuchs,  she  was  at  once  rejected. 
Stammering  or  thickness  of  speech  was  regarded  as  an 

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THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


insuperable  defect.  As  a  result  of  this  scrutiny,  only 
2000  remained  eligible,  and  on  the  following  day  further 
physical  measurements  were  made,  in  addition  to  which 
each  candidate  was  required  to  walk  a  hundred  paces,  in 
order  that  her  deportment  might  be  observed.  Any 
slovenliness  of  gait  or  lack  of  dignity  disqualified  the 
candidate;  after  this  test  only  1000  remained.  These 
were  then  taken  into  the  Inner  Palace  where  they  were 
subjected  to  a  searching  scrutiny  by  discreet  and  elderly 
women  of  the  Palace,  who  compelled  them  to  strip  so  that 
their  persons  might  be  scanned  from  head  to  foot.  Three 
hundred  were  ultimately  chosen  to  undergo  a  month’s 
probation  as  Palace  handmaidens.  Those  amongst  them 
who  showed  signs  of  stubbornness  or  of  frivolous  dis¬ 
position  were  weeded  out,  until  at  the  end  of  the  month 
only  fifty  remained,  all  of  whom  were  appointed  to  be 
Imperial  concubines. 

The  Chief  Eunuch  in  charge  of  the  Ceremonial  Depart¬ 
ment  was  greatly  impressed  by  “  Precious  Pearl’s  ”  beauty, 
and  placed  her  at  the  head  of  the  list  to  be  presented  to 
the  Senior  Concubine,  Lady  Chao,  who  had  been  one  of 
the  Emperor  Wan  Li’s  chief  wives,  and  was  at  present  acting 
as  Empress  Dowager.  This  lady,  an  accomplished  scholar, 
tested  each  candidate  in  caligraphy  and  other  accomplish¬ 
ments.  Finally  three  were  chosen  as  candidates  for  the 
position  of  Empress,  of  whom  “Precious  Pearl  ”  was  one; 
the  other  two  young  ladies  were  named  Wang  and  Tuan. 

In  accordance  with  ancient  custom,  the  Lady  Chao 
enveloped  the  heads  of  the  three  chosen  ones  in  turbans 
of  black  crape,  and  fastened  the  arms  of  each  with  a 
bracelet  of  jade  and  gold.  They  were  then  taken  into  an 
inner  chamber  for  a  final  examination  by  the  women  of 
the  Palace,  to  make  sure  that  they  were  without  spot  or 
blemish. 

In  due  course  their  report  was  submitted.  The  official 
chronicler  gives  from  it  a  detailed  list  of  the  future 

61 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


Empress’s  charms,  some  of  which  is  unprintable.  Her 
complexion  was  as  the  dawn,  her  eyes  like  autumn  waves, 
her  lips  like  cherries;  her  teeth,  numbering  thirty-eight 
in  all,  were  perfect,  her  chin  ample,  and  she  was  free  of 
birthmarks. 

Lady  Chao  hastened  to  report  to  His  Majesty,  and  con¬ 
ducted  the  three  maidens  to  his  apartments,  where  his 
foster-mother,  the  evil  Madame  K’o,  was  waiting  to  help 
the  Emperor  to  make  a  final  choice.  At  this  time,  K’o 
was  about  thirty-three,  a  woman  of  great  physical  beauty 
and  charm.  The  Emperor  had  already  bestowed  upon  her 
the  title  of  the  “  Holy  Lady  of  Ch’in.”  1 

Madame  K’o  took  an  immediate  and  instinctive  dislike 
to  “  Precious  Pearl  ”  and  began  to  criticise  her.  “  For 
a  girl  of  fifteen,”  she  said,  “  her  figure  is  too  stout;  she 
won’t  improve  as  she  gets  older.  She  is  good-looking  after 
a  fashion,  but  quite  unworthy  to  be  your  Consort.”  Point¬ 
ing  to  Miss  Wang,  she  exclaimed,  “  That’s  the  wife  for 
you.”  The  Emperor,  however,  was  evidently  attracted 
by  “  Precious  Pearl,”  but  following  the  prescribed  custom, 
he  asked  the  Lady  Chao’s  advice.  She  replied  :  “  All 
three  are  exceptionally  comely,  but  Miss  Chang  (‘  Precious 
Pearl’)  surpasses  the  others  in  dignity  of  demeanour.” 

Thereupon,  nothing  loth.  His  Majesty  chose  “  Precious 
Pearl  ”  for  his  Consort.  Miss  Wang  was  given  the  title 
of  “  Virtuous  Concubine  ”  and  Miss  Tuan  that  of  “  Pure 
Concubine.”  The  eighth  day  of  the  fourth  Moon  follow¬ 
ing  was  fixed  by  the  astronomers  as  auspicious  for  the 
Emperor  to  ascend  his  nuptial  couch;  and  three  weeks 
later  the  new  Empress  received  her  patents.  The  Emperor 
asked  her  many  questions  about  her  family  and  past  life. 
Her  replies  greatly  pleased  him,  and  she  speedily  acquired 

1  Ch’in,  the  classical  name  of  the  province  of  Shensi,  of  which  she 
was  a  native.  The  ruins  of  Madame  K’o’s  private  residence  are  still 
visible  just  outside  the  Tung  An  Gate  of  Peking,  and  the  site  is 
popularly  known  as  the  “  Foster-Mother’s  Palace.” 

62 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


over  him  that  influence  for  good  which  became  the  one 
redeeming  feature  of  his  weak  nature.  Her  father  (by 
adoption),  Chang  Kuo-chi,  was  ennobled  as  an  “  Earl  of 
exalted  strength,”  and  other  members  of  her  family 
received  suitable  honours. 

A  few  days  after  the  marriage,  Hsi  Tsung  and  his 
Consort  proceeded  to  the  Ancestral  Temple,  where  Her 
Majesty  performed  obeisance  before  the  Imperial  shrine. 
Hsi  Tsung  was  at  this  time  only  sixteen  and  of  very 
diminutive  stature;  his  Consort  towered  above  him.  As 
the  Empress’s  influence  increased,  Madame  K’o  showed 
unmistakable  signs  of  jealousy  and  wrath;  nevertheless, 
she  continued  to  visit  His  Majesty  daily  in  the  Palace  of 
Heavenly  Purity. 

In  spite  of  the  Emperor’s  devotion  to  his  beautiful 
bride,  it  was  evident  to  all  the  Court  that  he  was  becoming 
more  and  more  subject  to  the  influence  of  the  Chief  Eunuch, 
Wei  Chung-hsien,  who  had  attended  him  since  early 
infancy.  This  man  and  Madame  K’o  gradually  estab¬ 
lished  their  authority  as  the  real  rulers  of  Chma,  and 
maintained  it  throughout  his  reign.  Completely  domin¬ 
ated  in  regard  to  affairs  of  State  by  the  eunuch,  Hsi  Tsung 
showered  honours  upon  him;  meritorious  officials  were 
tortured  and  executed  to  gratify  his  lightest  whim. 
Wholesale  proscriptions  were  made  by  Wei  against  those 
who  had  criticised  him,  so  that  it  came  to  pass  that  even 
the  great  Viceroys  vied  with  each  other  in  currying  favour 
with  the  all-powerful  eunuch.  In  nearly  every  province 
shrines  were  erected  to  him  during  his  lifetime  and  he 
was  worshipped  as  a  deity.  In  Kiangsi  a  temple  which 
had  been  built  centuries  before,  in  honour  of  one  of  the 
most  eminent  disciples  of  Confucius,  was  dismantled,  and 
Wei  Chung-hsien’s  tablet  was  set  up  in  its  central  hall. 
He  was  likened  to  the  Sage  for  virtue  and  learning  :  nay, 
his  merits  were  even  exalted  beyond  those  of  the  Sage, 
and  he  was  accorded  the  highest  place  in  the  national 

63 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


Pantheon.  The  Governor  of  Shantung  gravely  informed 
the  Throne  that  a  chilin  1  had  been  captured  in  Confucius’ 
native  province,  near  to  the  Sage’s  grave,  an  auspicious 
event  which  he  attributed  to  the  fact  that  near  to  the 
Throne  there  stood  a  person  of  Wei  Chung-hsien’s  con¬ 
summate  virtue.  (The  chilin’’ s  rare  appearances,  like 
angels’  visits,  only  occur  when  the  Empire  is  governed 
by  a  perfect  ruler.)  The  eunuch  was  called  Lord  of 
9000  years,  and  the  Emperor’s  decrees,  which  Wei  in¬ 
variably  drafted,  began  with  the  words  :  “  We  and  Our 
eunuch  Minister,  decree  as  follows  .  .  .” 

In  all  things  the  infatuated  Monarch  submitted  to  the 
will  of  Wei  Chung-hsien,  except  only  when  the  eunuch 
and  Madame  K’o  endeavoured  to  poison  his  mind  against 
his  beloved  Consort,  to  whom  he  remained  devotedly 
faithful  all  his  life.  Whenever  the  Emperor,  under  her 
good  influence,  showed  signs  of  wishing  to  devote  himself 
to  study  or  serious  pursuits,  K’o  and  Wei  would  lure  him 
back  into  paths  of  sensual  dissipation.  The  Empress 
feared  and  disliked  them  both,  but  she  could  not  persuade 
Hsi  Tsung  to  free  himself  from  their  control. 

Shortly  after  His  Majesty’s  marriage,  certain  Censors 
began  to  send  in  outspoken  memorials  against  Madame 
K’o,  urging  that  she  should  not  be  permitted  to  spend  so 
much  of  her  time  in  the  Forbidden  City  in  close  attendance 
upon  the  Sovereign ;  it  being  contrary  to  etiquette  that  a 
woman  should  be  allowed  to  enter  the  Palace  of  Heavenly 
Purity.  The  Emperor,  in  reply  to  these  memorials,  de¬ 
clared  that  his  wife’s  extreme  youth  required  the  guiding 
hand  of  a  foster-mother.  The  Censors  returned  to  the 
charge,  pointing  out  that  a  woman  of  K’o’s  low  ante¬ 
cedents  was  unfit  to  minister  to  a  person  so  virtuous  as 
the  Empress.  44  How,”  said  one  of  them,  “  can  this 
woman  be  permitted  to  usurp  the  authority  which  belongs 


1  A  fabulous  animal,  of  origin  probably  similar  to  our  unicorn. 

64 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


of  right  to  Your  Majesty’s  Consort  ?  ”  K’o  was  eventually 
compelled  to  leave  the  Palace,  and  for  a  time  she  remained 
at  her  own  residence,  but  the  weakling  Emperor  felt  her 
absence  so  deeply  that  he  lost  his  appetite  and  became 
greatly  dejected.  In  spite  of  the  remonstrances  of  the 
Censors,  he  soon  recalled  her,  and  thereafter  her  influence 
grew  greater  than  before.  Waxing  proud,  she  began  openly 
to  ill-treat  those  of  the  concubines  who  were  not  on  her 
side,  and  supported  by  Wei  Chung-hsien,  dared  to  show 
open  contempt  for  the  Empress.  Shortly  after  her  return, 
the  Emperor  celebrated  her  birthday  with  royal  splendour. 
Proceeding  in  person  to  her  residence,  he  burned  incense 
before  her  tablet  and  offered  up  prayers  for  her  long  life. 
All  the  eunuchs  and  concubines  of  the  Court  were  ordered 
to  prostrate  themselves  in  obeisance  before  her.  Sump¬ 
tuous  theatricals  were  held  in  her  honour  for  three 
days,  and  the  best  musicians  in  the  capital  were  specially 
engaged.  In  the  following  month  the  Empress’s  birth¬ 
day  occurred,  but  no  entertainments  were  given  in  the 
Palace,  nor  were  any  promotions  conferred.  Even  in 
the  tea-houses,  men  knew  where  lay  the  power  behind  the 
Throne. 

Thus  things  went  on,  from  bad  to  worse.  K’o  and 
Wei  were  served  with  the  richest  viands  from  the  Imperial 
kitchens,  while  the  Empress  was  frequently  kept  waiting 
for  her  simple  meals.  She  fully  realised  the  dangers  that 
threatened  the  decadent  dynasty  at  the  hands  of  these 
evil-doers,  and  frequently  remonstrated  with  the  Emperor 
against  his  flagrant  violation  of  the  dynastic  laws.  K’o 
and  Wei  now  tried  to  lay  snares  for  the  Empress,  and  set 
one  of  their  eunuch  minions,  Ch’en  Ti-jun,  to  spy  upon 
her  in  her  Palace  of  Feminine  Tranquillity,  endeavouring 
all  the  time  to  turn  the  Emperor  against  her.  But  she, 
blameless  and  pure  of  heart,  paid  no  heed.  She  spent 
most  of  her  time  in  reading  and  in  penmanship,  wherein 
she  was  highly  expert;  to  the  more  intelligent  of  the 
f  65 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


Palace  concubines  slie  gave  lessons  in  history  and  philo¬ 
sophy.  A  devout  Buddhist,  she  spent  many  hours  in 
prayer  before  the  altar  of  the  Goddess  of  Mercy.  Fre¬ 
quently  she  attired  herself  as  a  nun  and  gave  herself  over 
to  pious  meditation.  She  knew  full  well  that  her  enemies 
were  plotting  against  her,  but  she  relied  upon  her  gentle 
influence  over  the  Emperor,  which  never  failed  to  hold 
him,  although  she  used  no  feminine  arts  to  win  his  favour. 

Her  Lord  the  Emperor  being  without  an  heir,  she  would 
recommend  various  concubines  to  his  notice,  but  usually 
excused  herself  from  receiving  his  conjugal  attentions  on 
the  plea  of  ill-health.  The  Emperor  was  wont  to  say  to 
her  :  “  Your  influence  over  me  is  wonderful  :  you  are  so 
brave,  so  good.  If  I  but  look  at  you  I  feel  a  different 
man.  Your  face  seems  to  say  that  you  should  easily  be 
won.  How  comes  it,  then,  that  I  find  it  so  difficult  to  woo 
you?” 

At  times  he  would  invite  her  to  a  boating  excursion 
upon  the  lake  adjoining  the  Forbidden  City;  His  Majesty 
himself  rowing  and  endeavouring  to  please  her  by  good- 
humoured  badinage.  But  she  would  use  these  occasions 
to  remonstrate  with  him  for  his  wild  life,  urging  him  to 
study  State  papers  and  to  give  daily  audiences  to  his 
Ministers.  “You  ought  to  make  friends  with  scholars 
and  attend  lectures  on  the  classics,”  she  would  way,  “in¬ 
stead  of  dallying  with  these  sycophants.”  For  a  time 
the  Emperor  would  obey  her  advice,  but  he  speedily  re¬ 
lapsed  into  evil  ways.  Madame  K’o  supplied  him  with 
drugs  to  stimulate  his  passions ;  whilst  “  Precious  Pearl  ” 
warned  him  against  all  forms  of  indulgence,  and  would 
throw  the  drugs  down  the  well.  Wei  Chung-hsien  arranged 
lewd  theatrical  performances  for  His  Majesty’s  amusement, 
but  whenever  the  play  was  indelicate,  the  Empress  would 
rise  from  her  place  and  leave  the  theatre  in  disgust. 

In  the  hope  of  securing  her  deposition,  Wei  and  K’o 
bribed  a  man  named  Sun-erh,  a  Honanese,  who  was  lying 

66 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


under  sentence  of  death  in  the  Board  of  Punishments,  to 
say  that  the  Empress  was  his  child  and  that  he  had  given 
her  to  her  father  by  adoption,  Chang  Kuo-chi.  To  the 
Emperor  they  said  that  a  criminal’s  daughter  ought  not 
to  be  his  Consort  and  that  she  should  be  deposed,  Chang- 
Kuo-chi  receiving  the  punishment  he  merited.  The 
Emperor  was  impressed  by  the  story,  and  went  straight 
to  his  Consort’s  apartment  to  ask  her  about  it.  But  at 
sight  of  her  tranquil  beauty  he  was  abashed,  and  could 
only  say  in  an  embarrassed  way  :  “  Are  you  really  the 
daughter  of  that  wretched  villain  Sun-erh  ?  ”  The 
Empress  blushed  slightly  and  paused  before  replying. 
Then  she  said  :  “If  Your  Majesty  believes  such  foolish 
rumours,  why  should  I  continue  to  defile  the  Palace  with 
my  presence  ?  Pray  let  me  be  deposed  and  make  room 
for  another  more  worthy.”  The  Emperor  thereupon 
hurriedly  apologised  and  made  amends,  all  doubt  having 
been  dispelled  from  his  mind.  That  night  he  supped  with 
the  Empress  and  next  day  warned  Wei  Chung-hsien 
against  uttering  idle  reports. 

Many  were  the  wiles  and  stratagems  by  which  these 
two  evil  conspirators  endeavoured  to  injure  the  Empress 
in  the  eyes  of  her  lord,  and  at  times — so  weak  a  nature  was 
Hsi  Tsung’s — they  seemed  to  be  on  the  verge  of  success. 
On  one  occasion,  the  Chief  Eunuch  devised  a  crafty  plot, 
supported  by  lying  witnesses,  against  Her  Majesty’s 
adopted  father,  and  induced  the  Emperor  to  issue  a 
decree  reprimanding  him  and  ordering  the  Empress  to 
meditate  for  three  days  on  his  conduct.  Later,  Madame 
K’o  introduced  into  the  harem  a  creature  of  her  own, 
named  Jen,  of  bad  character  but  pleasing  appearance, 
and  persuaded  the  Emperor  to  grant  her  high  rank 
amongst  the  Imperial  concubines.  Here  again  they 
were  nearly  successful,  for  Hsi  Tsung  became  infatuated 
with  the  woman;  yet  she  did  not  succeed  in  completely 
supplanting  “Precious  Pearl”  in  his  affections. 

67 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


In  1624,  the  Chief  Eunuch  was  at  the  height  of  his 
insolence;  none  were  safe  from  his  rapacious  and  vindic¬ 
tive  power.  It  was  at  this  time  that  he  took  a  fearful 
revenge  upon  the  Censor  Yang  Lien  and  the  others  who 
had  denounced  him  and  his  former  confederate,  the 
concubine  Li. 

Yang  Lien,  it  will  be  remembered,  had  retired  from  the 
Court  to  his  native  place  in  1622,  shortly  after  the  death 
of  Wan  Li.  In  1624  he  returned  to  Peking  and,  moved 
to  righteous  indignation  by  the  evil  deeds  of  Wei  and  his 
accomplices,  he  handed  in  the  denunciatory  memorial 
which  eventually  cost  him  his  life.  This  famous  impeach¬ 
ment  of  the  notorious  eunuch  is  too  long  to  quote  in  full, 
but  it  reveals  so  clearly  the  condition  of  the  Court,  and 
the  power  wielded  by  these  “  rats  and  foxes,”  and  their 
effect  on  the  government  of  the  country,  that  we  must 
reproduce  its  most  important  clauses. 

The  memorial  begins  thus  :  “  The  founder  of  our 

dynasty  desired  that  eunuchs  should  not  interfere  in 
governmental  affairs,  and  that  evil-doing  should  not  be 
condoned.  But  the  eunuch  Comptroller  General  of  the 
Eastern  Court 1  behaves  with  overweaning  arrogance,  and 
treats  the  dynastic  ordinances  with  contempt.  I  venture 
to  set  forth  his  chief  crimes  as  follows  : 

“  1.  He  is  a  lewd  fellow  of  common  extraction  who,  after 
being  emasculated  in  middle  life,  won  a  position  in  the 
Palace  by  sheer  intrigue.  He  wheedled  his  way  into 
Imperial  favour  by  displaying  zeal  in  trivial  matters,  and 
thereafter  developed  into  a  most  consummate  traitor  and 
villain,  until  he  has  become  practically  a  dictator,  even 
issuing  his  own  decrees,  whereby  the  Government  has 
often  been  thrown  into  utter  confusion.  Ancestral  tra¬ 
dition  requires  that  the  Grand  Secretaries  shall  issue  all 

1  A  bureau  under  eunuchs  which  had  become  virtually  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  Empire,  which  drew  up  decrees,  and  completely  superseded 
the  Grand  Secretariat. 


68 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


decrees;  but  since  Wei  Chung-hsien’s  assumption  of 
dictatorship,  he  has  either  issued  Imperial  edicts  verbally 
or  has  himself  appended  the  vermilion  rescript.  Thus 
are  the  traditions  of  two  centuries  defied. 

“  2.  When  His  late  Majesty  lay  dying,  Liu  Yi-ching  and 
Chou  Chia-mo  were  the  recipients  of  his  last  testament, 
but  Wei  was  able  to  secure  their  abrupt  dismissal,  be¬ 
cause  he  feared  that  they  might  clip  his  power.  In  this 
way  Your  Majesty  was  made  to  act  undutifully  in  the 
removal  of  your  august  predecessor’s  faithful  servants. 

“  3.  Wei  dismissed  Sun  Shen-hsing  and  Tsou  Yuan-piao, 
honest  patriots  both,  who  had  drawn  public  attention  to 
the  poisoning  of  the  late  Emperor  by  eunuchs.  He 
bestowed  a  dragon  robe  on  the  henchman  of  the  concu¬ 
bine  Li,  the  man  who  administered  the  dose  of  red  pills 
which  killed  His  Majesty.  He  is  a  friend  to  traitors,  and 
the  foe  of  good  and  loyal  men. 

“  4.  He  has  removed  all  honest  officials  from  your  Court, 
until  not  a  soul  is  left  who  dares  to  warn  Your  Majesty. 
He  has  prevented  you  from  employing  worthy  men  lest 
they  frustrate  his  schemes. 

“5.  It  is  a  common  saying  in  Peking  that  Your  Majesty, 
the  Son  of  Heaven,  can  be  easily  appeased,  but  that  the 
wrath  of  Wei  Chung-hsien  cannot  be  placated.  At  a 
word  from  him  you  dismiss  every  one  who  incurs  his 
displeasure. 

“  6.  Thus  far  I  have  referred  only  to  officials.  Last 
year  it  was  stated  that  one  of  the  lower  concubines 
(‘  honourable  persons  ’)  had  won  your  favour  by  her 
purity  and  virtue.  Wei  became  jealous  and  fearful  that 
she  should  undermine  his  influence  and  expose  his  in¬ 
famies;  she  died,  therefore,  of  a  sudden  and  mysterious 
sickness.  Your  Majesty  is  unable  to  protect  even  your 
cherished  favourites. 

“  7.  Thus  far  I  have  spoken  only  of  concubines  of  lowly 
rank.  Lately  the  senior  concubine  ‘  Abundant  ’  was 

69 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


expecting  her  confinement,  and  every  one  hoped  that 
Your  Majesty  was  about  to  be  blessed  with  an  heir.  Wei 
hated  her  because  she  was  not  of  his  party.  He  issued 
a  forged  decree  which  brought  about  her  suicide.  Your 
Majesty  is  powerless  to  protect  even  ladies  of  exalted 
position  in  your  Palace. 

“  8.  Thus  far  I  have  referred  to  consorts,  but  there  are 
worse  crimes.  Your  Empress  had  given  birth  to  a  son, 
but  it  died  straightway,  as  the  result  of  Wei’s  plottings. 
It  is  common  knowledge  that  Wei  and  Madame  K’o 
brought  about  this  death.  You  cannot  even  protect 
your  own  son. 

“  9.  During  the  forty  years  in  which  your  father  was 
Heir  Apparent  his  position  was  one  of  grave  peril,  but 
he  had  one  faithful  henchman,  the  eunuch  Wang  An. 
When  your  father  died  mysteriously  of  the  fatal  red  pills 
it  was  Wang  An  who  saw  to  your  protection  and  helped 
to  secure  your  safe  succession  to  the  Throne.  This  man 
deserved  well  of  Your  Majesty,  but  Wei  issued  a  forged 
decree  and  had  him  beheaded  in  the  Hunting  Park.  And 
not  only  did  Wang  An  suffer,  but  hundreds  of  your  father’s 
attendants  have  been  slain  or  banished. 

“  10.  Each  day  sees  him  rejoicing  in  fresh  honours  : 
shrines  are  built  in  his  honour  at  which  he,  a  living  man, 
is  to  be  worshipped.  There  is  no  limit  to  his  evil  influence 
with  Your  Majesty.  In  conferring  distinctions  on  such 
a  man  the  words  of  the  Emperor  are  defiled.  At  his  native 
place  of  Ho  Chien-fu  he  has  erected  triumphal  arches  in 
his  own  honour,  on  which  are  carved  Imperial  dragons 
and  heaven-soaring  phoenixes.  His  sepulchre  in  the 
Western  hills  is  built  on  the  scale  of  an  Imperial  mauso¬ 
leum  and  covered  with  a  yellow  roof. 

“11.  He  fills  official  posts  with  youths  still  smelling  of 
their  mothers’  milk,  or  with  illiterate  members  of  his  own 
family,  like  Wei  Liang-pi,  Wei  Liang-tsai  and  Wei  Liang- 
eihng.’ 


70 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


“12.  He  has  inflicted  humiliating  punishment  on  the 
fathers  of  Imperial  concubines  and  beheaded  their  servants 
by  scores.  He  has  done  his  best  to  ruin  the  Empress’s 
father  and  to  shake  even  Her  Majesty’s  position.  Had  it 
not  been  for  the  courageous  opposition  of  one  of  the 
Grand  Secretaries,  Her  Majesty’s  father  would  have 
perished  on  the  scaffold. 

“  13.  The  ‘  Eastern  Court  ’  was  established  for  the 
purpose  of  protecting  the  Throne  from  treason,  but  in 
Wei  Chung-hsien’s  hands  it  has  become  a  deadly  machine 
for  the  removal  of  rivals  by  general  proscription.  He 
keeps  a  box  there  into  which  anonymous  accusations  may 
be  dropped,  and  traps  are  set  night  and  day  to  betray 
those  who  oppose  him.  Let  but  a  word  be  whispered 
against  his  doings  and  forthwith  a  warrant  is  issued  and 
the  offender  is  dragged  to  trial  at  the  T’ung  Wen-kuan. 

“14.  Dynastic  ordinance  forbids  that  eunuchs  should 
form  bands  of  soldiers  as  bodyguards  to  the  Sovereign. 
For  this  enactment  there  are  urgent  reasons,  but  Wei  has 
got  together  a  troop  of  his  own  creatures,  who  are  drilled 
in  the  Palace.  To  this  band  drift  naturally  all  dangerous 
and  desperate  characters;  what  is  to  prevent  an  assassin 
being  found  amongst  them  who  would  attempt  Your 
Majesty’s  life? 

“15.  When  Wei  was  sent  to  perform  sacrifice  at 
Chochin,  the  road  was  cleared  for  him,  as  for  an  Imperial 
progress.  Heralds  announced  his  advance  and  yellow 
earth  was  spread  upon  the  highway,  so  that  the  people 
believed  that  he  was  the  Emperor  himself.  On  his  Eastern 
journey  he  was  borne  in  a  chariot  drawn  by  four  horses, 
Imperial  banners  and  insignia  were  carried  in  the  pro¬ 
cession.  His  bodyguard  surrounded  him  on  both  sides 
to  screen  his  sacred  person  from  the  vulgar  gaze.  In 
every  respect  his  passing  resembled  a  progress  of  Your 
Majesty  !  Numbers  of  persons  offered  their  petitions  to 
him  or  made  offerings  of  tribute,  prostrating  themselves 

71 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


in  the  dust.  What  manner  of  man  does  this  Wei  fancy 
himself  to  be  ? 

“  16.  It  is  well  known  that,  if  too  much  royal  favour  be 
shown,  conceit  is  thereby  engendered,  and  that  excess  of 
Imperial  grace  usually  breeds  resentment  in  its  recipient 
against  the  giver.  Thus  it  came  to  pass  that  this  spring 
Wei  dared  to  ride  on  horseback  in  front  of  Your  Majesty. 
Amazed  at  his  effrontery,  Your  Majesty  shot  the  horse 
dead;  Wei’s  offence  was  speedily  pardoned.  He  showed 
no  contrition,  but  carried  himself  the  more  haughtily  in 
your  presence  and,  outside  the  Palace,  spoke  despisingly 
of  you.  He  has  now  surrounded  himself  with  armed 
men,  prepared  to  resist  in  case  of  his  arrest.  Traitors 
and  rebels  desire  only  to  attain  the  goal  of  their  nefarious 
ambitions,  and  nothing  stops  them  until  they  have  gained 
it.  Why  should  you  nourish  a  tiger  to  work  his  evil  will 
at  your  very  elbows  ?  Even  if  Wei’s  carcase  were  hacked 
into  mincemeat,  his  sins  would  remain  unexpiated. 

“  The  tale  of  his  crimes  and  treasonable  designs  is 
blazoned  abroad  in  all  men’s  eyes;  yet  none  of  your 
courtiers  dare  speak  against  him,  lest  they  incur  doom. 
Their  tongues  are  tied;  not  one  dare  memorialise  you. 
Should,  perchance,  any  have  the  courage  to  reveal  Wei’s 
treasons,  the  ‘  Lady  of  Divine  Worship,’  Madame  K’o, 
stands  at  Your  Majesty’s  side  to  gloss  over  his  guilt. 
These  two  are  sworn  allies ;  each  aids  and  abets  the  other, 
if  one  calls,  the  other  comes  to  the  rescue. 

“  Humbly  I  implore  Your  Majesty  now  to  display  the 
might  of  your  high  displeasure  and  to  appoint  a  commis¬ 
sion  of  the  ablest  nobles  and  highest  officials,  with  power 
to  subject  Wei  to  relentless  examination,  in  order  that  the 
law  of  the  land  may  be  vindicated.  Also,  I  beg  you  to 
have  the  ‘  Lady  of  Divine  Worship  ’  removed  from  out 
the  precincts  of  the  Forbidden  City,  in  order  to  guard 
you  from  further  danger.  Then,  though  your  servant 
die,  yet  shall  he  live.” 


72 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


Wei  was  greatly  alarmed  at  the  revelations  of  this  bold 
memorial  and  begged  the  Grand  Secretary  Han  K’uang 
to  defend  him.  Han  refused,  so  Wei  hurried  to  the 
Emperor’s  presence  and  abjectly  asked  to  be  allowed  to 
resign  the  Comptrollership  of  the  Eastern  Court.  Madame 
K’o  then  used  all  her  wiles,  imploring  the  Emperor  not  to 
give  his  ear  to  calumny,  while  one  of  the  Grand  Secretaries 
was  found  to  intercede  for  the  eunuch.  F or  a  moment  Wei’s 
fate  hung  in  the  balance,  but  in  the  end  the  unfortunate 
Emperor,  in  his  purblind  folly,  listened  to  Madame  K’o, 
and  issued  a  complimentary  decree  retaining  Wei  at  his 
post.  On  the  following  morning  he  issued  another  edict 
sternly  rebuking  Yang  Lien  for  his  temerity.  It  had 
been  the  latter’s  intention  to  see  the  Emperor  at  the 
morning  audience  and  to  recount  the  eunuch’s  crimes  in 
the  Monarch’s  presence,  but  Wei  induced  his  master  to 
suspend  the  Court  for  that  day.  Baulked  of  this  oppor¬ 
tunity,  and  realising  the  danger  of  further  delay,  Yang 
handed  in  a  second  memorial  at  the  Gate  of  Supreme 
Unity.  This  Wei  suppressed,  and  though  Yang  sent  in 
a  third  memorial  it  never  reached  the  Throne.  For  three 
days  no  audiences  were  held,  and  when  finally  the  Monarch 
emerged  he  was  surrounded  by  a  guard  of  several  hundred 
eunuchs,  all  of  whom  had  weapons  concealed  on  their 
persons.  Orders  were  issued  that  no  memorials  would  be 
received  from  Yang,  who  was  compelled  to  desist. 

Nevertheless,  other  memorials  of  impeachment  poured 
in;  the  Censor  Huang  Tsun-su  asked  :  “  Can  a  Govern¬ 
ment  be  pure  with  eunuchs  at  its  head,  who  usurp  the 
authority  of  the  Throne?  Can  Your  Majesty  employ  as 
your  right-hand  man  a  creature  whose  flesh  the  whole 
Empire  desires  to  eat?  You  think  him  loyal,  but  you 
stand  alone  and  in  a  perilous  position.  All  upright  men 
have  left  your  side,  while  you  lean  upon  this  eunuch  as 
on  a  pillar.  Unless  you  now  act  swiftly,  Wei  Chung- 
hsien  will  never  cleanse  his  heart.  He  began  by  destroy- 

73 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


ing  officials  and  scholars,  but  now  he  aims  at  higher  quarry. 
If  his  position  is  allowed  to  become  stronger  not  even 
armed  force  will  dislodge  him.” 

Next,  Wei  Ta-chung  put  in  a  pregnant  memorial  : 
“  When  honest  men  advise  the  Throne  at  risk  of  their 
lives  and  their  words  remain  unheeded  the  situation  is 
parlous  indeed.  Yang  Lien  has  not  shrunk  from  the 
peril  of  dismemberment,  concerned  only  with  the  dangers 
that  threaten  the  State,  and  hoping  to  arouse  Your  Majesty 
to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth.  Your  Majesty  has  just 
issued  a  decree  assuming  to  yourself  all  the  misdeeds  with 
which  he  is  charged,  but  I  fear  the  author  of  this  laudatory 
edict  is  not  Your  Majesty  but  Wei  himself.  It  has  come 
to  this,  that  you,  the  Son  of  Heaven,  have  surrendered 
yourself  and  your  consorts  to  the  keeping  of  AVei  and 
K’o.  The  peril  of  our  State  makes  my  blood  run  cold. 
Those  who  surround  the  Throne  are  tools  and  creatures  of 
Wei  and  K’o  and  no  true  servants  of  Your  Majesty.  You 
are  become  like  unto  an  orphan  in  a  friendless  world.” 

Another  impeachment,  endorsed  by  over  a  thousand 
academy  students,  accused  Wei  of  suppressing  all  attacks 
upon  himself,  of  inducing  the  Emperor  to  ignore  the  word 
of  the  officials  who,  kneeling  at  the  gate,  had  begged  for 
Wei’s  dismissal,  and  of  designs  on  the  Throne  itself. 
Finally,  a  Board  Secretary  named  AVan  Ching  denounced 
the  Chief  Eunuch  fiercely.  This  official  had  charge  of  the 
building  and  equipment  of  the  late  Emperor’s  mauso¬ 
leum;  a  large  amount  of  copper  was  needed  for  its  sacri¬ 
ficial  vessels,  and  as  there  were  vast  supplies  of  the  metal 
lying  unused  in  the  Imperial  precincts,  he  asked  the 
eunuch  Comptroller  to  issue  what  he  needed  for  the  tomb. 
This  Wei  not  only  refused  to  do,  but  he  issued  a  forged 
decree  concerning  the  application. 

Hereat  AVan,  greatly  enraged,  impeached  Wei.  He 
wrote  :  “  Sovereign  power  cannot  be  delegated,  and  least 
of  all  to  an  emasculated  minion.  This  AVei  is  practically 

74 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


become  Emperor  and  the  fountain  of  all  honour;  his 
friends  secure  well-feathered  nests,  whilst  the  bodies  of 
his  enemies  are  covered  with  boils  and  sores.  At  his 
asking,  hereditary  titles  are  granted ;  his  household 
servants  receive  bribes  in  thousands  of  taels.  Your 
Majesty  favours  him  with  unbounded  confidence  for  that 
he  served  your  father;  yet  he  refuses  to  issue  copper  for 
your  father’s  shrine.  His  own  grave  at  Pi  Yun-ssu,  in 
the  Western  hills,  is  as  large  as  an  Imperial  mausoleum; 
in  the  provinces,  stately  shrines  have  been  erected  in  his 
honour,  emblazoned  with  inscriptions  and  gaudy  orna¬ 
ments.  On  his  own  tomb  he  has  spent  a  million  taels, 
while  His  late  Majesty’s  sepulchre  is  denied  even  the 
necessary  fittings.  Your  Majesty’s  existence  is  ignored; 
Wei  Chung-hsien  fills  all  men’s  minds.” 

Wei,  having  recovered  from  his  alarm  and  made  sure 
that  the  Emperor’s  favour  would  not  be  taken  from  him, 
now  determined  to  make  an  example  of  Wan,  so  as  to 
put  fear  into  his  other  enemies.  He  forged  a  decree 
sentencing  him  to  a  flogging  of  one  hundred  strokes  in  the 
Palace,  but  first  he  sent  a  number  of  eunuchs  to  Wan’s 
own  house  and  had  him  unmercifully  beaten  there.  When 
the  wretched  man  was  brought  to  the  Palace  he  was  still 
alive,  but  during  the  official  flogging  he  became  uncon¬ 
scious.  The  eunuchs  then  kicked  and  trampled  on  him 
so  that  he  died  next  day.  A  Censor  had  the  courage  to 
protest  against  this  outrage  and  to  speak  well  of  Wan, 
who  “  had  perished  by  the  hands  of  this  abominable  and 
sharp-fanged  eunuch.”  The  incident,  said  he,  would  be 
recorded  in  history  for  all  time,  and  would  cover  the 
Emperor’s  name  with  eternal  discredit.  But  the  besotted 
Monarch,  having  made  his  fatal  choice  of  evil  friends, 
paid  no  heed  to  these  remonstrances  and  warnings,  so 
that  Wei  hardened  his  heart  and  became  more  reckless 
than  ever  in  his  crimes  and  bloodthirsty  revenges. 

The  brave  Censor,  Yang  Lien,  was  now  thrown  into  the 

75 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


Imperial  prison,  and  with  him  Tso  Kuang-tou  and  Wei 
Ta-chung,  who  had  joined  him  in  denouncing  the  Chief 
Eunuch.  This  prison  was  separate  and  distinct  from  the 
Board  of  Punishments ;  tortures  were  freely  practised 
there.  Wei  issued  a  decree  that  these  three  men  were 
to  be  tortured  every  fifth  day,  and  not  to  be  handed  over 
to  the  Board  of  Punishments  until  all  their  money  had 
been  extorted.  All  three  were  tortured  most  horribly, 
but  none  of  them  would  confess  to  having  obtained  money 
wrongfully  by  taking  bribes.  Finally  Tso  Kuang-tou, 
unable  to  endure  his  misery,  said  to  his  fellow  prisoners  : 
“  Either  they  will  torture  us  to  death  for  not  confessing, 
or  else  they  will  hire  one  of  the  gaolers  to  kill  us.  If 
now  we  confess,  they  must  hand  us  to  the  Board  of 
Punishments  for  formal  trial,  and  we  may  then  escape.” 
His  companions  agreed,  and  they  all  confessed  to  false 
charges  of  having  taken  bribes.  But  the  tiger  would 
not  release  his  prey;  Wei  issued  a  decree  that  they  were 
not  yet  to  be  taken  to  the  public  prison,  and  the  torturing 
went  on.  Yang  Lien  was  eventually  killed  under  a  torture 
which  consisted  of  piling  great  sacks  of  earth  upon  his 
belly  and  driving  nails  into  his  ears.  When  at  last  the 
bodies  of  the  three  victims  were  handed  over  to  their 
relatives,  they  were  so  mutilated  as  to  be  unrecognisable. 
The  arrest  of  Yang  Lien  created  much  public  indignation; 
thousands  of  scholars  and  respectable  people  lined  the 
road  by  which  he  had  to  pass,  burning  incense  in  his 
honour  and  praying  for  his  safe  return.  Wei’s  minions 
seized  all  his  property,  but  it  amounted  to  less  than  a 
thousand  taels,  for  he  was  as  poor  as  he  was  honest. 
Had  not  the  neighbours  come  to  their  rescue,  his  wife 
and  sons  would  have  been  reduced  to  beggary. 

Let  us  now  return  to  tell  of  the  life  and  death  of  His 
Tsung’s  noble  Empress.  The  facts  recited  in  Yang  Lien’s 
memorial,  above  quoted,  give  some  idea  of  the  grievous 
wrongs  and  indignities  which,  through  the  miserable 

76 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


weakness  of  the  Emperor,  she  suffered  at  the  hands  of 
the  Chief  Eunuch  and  Madame  K’o. 

It  was  in  the  year  1623  that  the  Empress  became 
enceinte,  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  Hsi  Tsung.  But  the 
Chief  Eunuch  and  Madame  K’o  had  no  desire  to  see  Her 
Majesty’s  influence  over  him  and  her  authority  at  Court 
increased  by  the  birth  of  an  heir  to  the  Throne.  Two  of 
the  Empress’s  favourite  and  most  faithful  serving-maids 
were,  therefore,  put  to  death  by  means  of  forged  decrees 
on  false  charges,  and  all  her  other  personal  attendants 
were  dismissed,  except  those  upon  whom  Madame  K’o 
could  rely.  Their  places  were  taken  by  women  selected 
by  the  Chief  Eunuch,  one  of  whom,  employed  as  a  mas¬ 
seuse,  so  mishandled  the  Empress  that  her  child  was 
born  dead.  Shortly  afterwards,  Her  Majesty,  goaded  to 
desperation  by  the  Emperor’s  crass  folly,  determined 
on  an  attempt  to  rid  the  Court  at  last  of  the  woman  whose 
deplorable  influence  was  the  chief  cause  of  its  wickedness 
and  shame.  Taking  her  seat  on  the  dais  of  the  Main  Hall 
in  the  Palace  of  Feminine  Tranquillity,  with  a  number  of 
armed  retainers  on  either  side,  she  summoned  Madame 
K’o  to  her  presence.  When  the  woman  came,  suspecting 
nothing  serious,  the  Empress  launched  straightway  into 
a  recital  of  all  her  sins  and  wickedness,  and  ended  by 
bidding  her  prepare  to  die.  K’o  knelt  at  her  feet  and 
prayed  for  mercy;  meanwhile  a  eunuch  had  gone  swiftly 
to  inform  the  Emperor,  busy  at  his  carpentering,  of  what 
was  taking  place.  He  arrived  upon  the  scene  just  in  time 
to  save  his  foster-mother’s  life.  From  this  time  forward 
the  Chief  Eunuch  and  Madame  K’o  endeavoured  by  all 
possible  means  to  poison  the  Emperor’s  mind  against 
his  Consort  and  to  deprive  her  of  his  protection.  She  on 
her  side  sought  strength  and  consolation  in  prayer,  chant¬ 
ing  Buddhist  masses  daily  for  the  repose  of  the  souls  of 
the  murdered  Censors  and  her  faithful  attendants.  She 
hoped  thus  to  move  her  husband  to  remorse.  Especially 

77 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


did  she  reproach  him  for  allowing  the  murder  of  Yang 
Lien. 

Wei  Chung-hsien  made  repeated  attempts  to  ruin  the 
Empress  in  the  eyes  of  the  Court  and  country  by  securing 
the  disgrace  of  her  adopted  father  Chang  Kuo-chi,  against 
whom  he  brought  criminal  charges  backed  by  the  false 
evidence  of  his  creatures.  He  produced  memorials  accusing 
him  of  plotting  against  the  Emperor’s  life,  of  taking  bribes, 
and  of  a  secret  liaison  with  a  lady  of  the  Court,  but  Hsi 
Tsung,  weak  as  he  was  in  all  other  matters,  remained 
strongly  attached  to  his  beautiful  and  virtuous  wife,  and 
the  Empress  found  another  loyal  defender  in  the  Grand 
Secretary  Li  Kuo-p’u,  who  succeeded  in  checking  some 
of  the  Chief  Eunuch’s  bloodthirsty  schemes  and  in  frighten¬ 
ing  the  woman,  his  accomplice.  Finally,  in  the  spring  of 
1627,  upon  a  false  impeachment,  the  Emperor  was  in¬ 
duced  to  deprive  the  “  Earl  of  Exalted  Strength  ”  of  all 
his  titles  and  emoluments  and  order  him  into  retirement. 
This  he  did,  weary  of  the  importunities  of  Madame  K’o, 
but  still  he  would  hear  no  word  against  his  Consort. 
When  she  heard  of  her  adopted  father’s  disgrace,  the 
Empress  stripped  off  all  her  ornaments,  and  dressing 
herself  as  a  mourner,  without  head  covering,  sought  the 
Emperor’s  presence,  where,  on  her  knees,  she  thanked  him 
for  his  clemency. 

Shortly  after  this  episode,  in  the  summer  of  1627,  the 
Emperor  fell  sick  of  an  illness  from  which  he  never  re¬ 
covered.  As  his  state  became  worse,  his  affection  for  his 
loyal  and  devoted  wife  increased.  At  this  juncture,  Wei 
Chung-hsien  had  the  effrontery  to  propose  to  Her  Majesty 
that  she  should  become  his  confederate  in  a  scheme  of 
treason  and  dishonour.  This  devil  incarnate  had  no 
belief  in  the  constancy  of  any  sort  of  virtue — in  his  world 
all  were  bought  and  sold,  loyalty  being  merely  a  question 
of  price  and  opportunity.  He  and  Madame  K’o  had  much 
to  fear  from  the  death  of  the  Emperor,  the  weakling  whose 

78 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


name  and  authority  were  necessary  to  their  evil  purposes. 
Wei  could  not  hope  to  wield  the  power  of  the  Throne  un¬ 
less  it  were  filled  by  a  puppet  or  by  an  ally.  He  therefore 
proposed  to  Her  Majesty  that,  upon  her  husband’s  death, 
she  should  become  Chief  Regent,  accepting  as  Regent 
Assessor  (practically  co-Regent)  a  creature  named  Wei 
Liang-ch’ing,  one  of  the  eunuch’s  adherents.  At  the 
same  time  he  desired  that  the  Empress  should  give  out 
that  she  was  enceinte,  with  the  intention  of  passing  off  a 
son  of  Wei  Liang-ch’ing  as  her  own  child  after  the 
Emperor’s  death.  In  this  way  the  house  of  Wei  would 
attain  to  the  Throne. 

This  Wei  Liang-ch’ing  was  merely  a  tool  in  the  hands 
of  the  Chief  Eunuch,  without  political  ambition  of  his 
own.  He  was  a  wine-bibber  and  a  profligate,  whose  one 
thought,  in  accepting  the  role  assigned  to  him,  was  to 
obtain  possession  of  the  beautiful  Empress.  To  his  friends 
he  declared,  “  I  care  not  a  jot  for  the  Dragon  Throne, 
but  to  enjoy  the  society  of  such  a  woman  as  the  Goddess 
Chang,1  that  were  bliss  indeed.”  The  Empress  knew 
that,  upon  Hsi  Tsung’s  passing,  it  must  come  to  a  life- 
and-death  struggle  between  the  eunuch  and  herself,  but 
she  held  her  head  high  and  showed  no  signs  of  fear.  “  For 
many  years,”  she  said  to  him,  “  I  have  made  me  ready 
for  death.  If  now  I  obey  you,  you  will  kill  me  sooner  or 
later;  if  I  refuse,  you  will  kill  me  only  a  little  sooner. 
But  if  I  die  resisting  you  to  the  utmost,  I  can  face  un¬ 
ashamed  the  souls  of  the  departed  Emperors  in  the  other 
world.” 

As  the  Emperor’s  end  approached,  Her  Majesty  begged 
him  to  name  as  his  successor  his  brother,  the  Prince  Hsin. 
“  But,”  said  the  dying  Monarch,  “  Wei  Chung-hsien 
assures  me  that  two  of  my  concubines  are  with  child.  If 
an  heir  should  be  born  to  one  of  them,  he  will  become  our 
son  and  should  surely  succeed  to  the  Throne.”  Upon 
1  Thus  was  the  Empress  familiarly  known  in  the  Palace. 

79 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


this, Tthe ^Empress  spoke  to  him  most  earnestly;  the 
attendants  never  knew  what  words  passed  between  them, 
but  the  Emperor  nodded  consent,  and  summoned  his 
brother  to  receive  his  dying  behests.  Prince  Hsin  was 
about  to  plead  his  incompetency,  but  his  sister-in-law, 
attired  as  a  widow,  hurriedly  emerged  from  behind  an 
alcove  and  pleaded  with  him,  saying  :  “  My  brother,  do 
your  duty,  obey  His  Majesty.  The  situation  is  desperate, 
and  I  fear  a  rising  in  the  Palace.  Thank  His  Majesty  and 
do  as  he  desires.”  Prince  Hsin  then  fell  upon  his  knees, 
and  the  Monarch  bade  him  govern  the  Empire  wisely, 
avoiding  the  errors  which  he  himself  had  committed. 
But,  blind  to  the  last,  he  added  :  “  Wei  Cliung-hsien  fully 
deserves  your  trust  and  may  be  given  the  highest  office 
with  absolute  confidence.”  Finally,  he  commended  the 
Empress  to  his  brother’s  tender  care.  “  See  to  her 
welfare;  she  has  been  a  faithful  Consort  to  me  these 
seven  years;  much  do  I  owe  her.  Often  has  she  ad¬ 
monished  me  and  urged  me  to  better  things.  Her  influence 
has  ever  been  for  good.  She  deserves  all  your  pity;  a 
widow,  and  so  young.  To  your  care  I  commend  her.” 
Prince  Hsin  left  the  Presence,  and  the  Empress  concealed 
him  in  an  inner  apartment  of  the  Palace,  for  fear  lest  Wei 
should  assassinate  him.  The  Emperor  passed  away  at 
3  p.m.  on  the  22nd  of  the  8th  Moon.  Thereupon  the 
Empress  issued  his  valedictory  decree,  and  commanded 
the  hereditary  Duke  Chang  Wei-hsien  and  other  officials 
to  escort  the  new  Emperor  to  the  Main  Hall  of  Audience, 
where  he  should  receive  obeisance.  Wei  Chung-hsien  was 
persuaded  to  bide  his  time  and  to  refrain  from  challenging 
the  authority  of  this  decree  by  setting  up  a  puppet  of  his 
own  at  once.  (The  eunuchs,  as  a  body,  always  preferred 
intrigue  and  assassination  to  open  defiance  of  dynastic 
law.)  The  dead  Emperor  was  dressed  in  his  robes  of 
longevity,  and  his  widow,  weeping  at  his  bier,  so  exhausted 
herself  by  excess  of  grief  that  she  fainted  away. 

80 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


On  recovering  consciousness  her  first  thought  was  to 
warn  the  new  Emperor  against  the  danger  of  poison; 
she  begged  him  to  touch  no  food  prepared  in  the  Palace 
kitchen.  She  herself  dispatched  a  confidential  chamber- 
lain  to  the  market  for  victuals  which  she  cooked  with  her 
own  hands.  The  Emperor  thanked  her,  and  as  a  sign  of 
his  gratitude  for  her  devotion,  recalled  her  adopted  father 
to  Peking  and  restored  all  his  honours.  He  was  allowed 
to  enter  the  Palace  and  return  thanks  to  his  daughter. 
The  Emperor  conferred  upon  her  the  title  of  Empress 
Senior,1  of  Feminine  Virtue  and  Tranquillity,  and  gave 
her  the  Palace  of  Motherly  Peace  and  of  Motherly 
Blessings  for  her  abode. 

The  new  Emperor  had  abstained  from  all  participation 
in  Palace  politics  during  his  brother’s  occupancy  of  the 
Throne,  but  he  soon  showed  himself  to  be  a  man  of  strong 
character  and  noble  disposition.  The  Chief  Eunuch’s 
position  now  became  one  of  great  danger,  for  his  crimes 
had  made  him  many  enemies,  who  all  combined  and 
turned  against  him.  Also,  Madame  K’o  had  been  sincerely 
attached  to  her  foster  son,  though  she  had  abused  his 
confidence,  and  at  his  death,  stricken  with  remorse,  she 
ceased  to  be  useful  for  treasonable  purposes.  The  power 
of  the  evil  confederacy  which  had  wrought  so  many 
and  great  evils  was  now  broken.  Before  the  late  Emperor’s 
coffin,  Madame  K’o  penitently  burned  pathetic  relics  of 
his  childhood,  which  she  had  treasured — his  first  tooth, 
some  locks  of  baby  hair,  a  few  broken  toys,  and  the  scabs 
which  had  peeled  off  him  after  smallpox.  But  her  time 
had  come.  Shortly  afterwards  she  was  arrested,  accused 
of  countless  crimes  on  overwhelming  evidence,  and 
sentenced  to  death  by  the  slicing  process,  every  member 
of  her  family  and  household  being  also  condemned  to 
execution.  At  her  death  the  people  rejoiced  as  at  a 
festival.  In  her  quarters  at  the  Palace  there  were  found 
1  To  be  distinguished  from  Empress  Dowager. 

81 


G 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


six  Imperial  concubines,  all  with  child,  and  it  was  proved 
that  she  had  intended  to  poison  the  new  Emperor  and  to 
make  one  of  these  infants  of  unknown  paternity  heir  to 
the  Throne.  All  these  wretched  women  were  condemned 
to  death,  victims  of  another’s  evil  ambition. 

The  tide  had  now  turned  strongly  against  Wei  Chung- 
lisien,  and  realising  that  his  position  was  desperate,  he 
escaped  from  the  Palace  and  fled  to  Shantung.  Out¬ 
lawed,  and  abandoned  by  all  his  followers,  he  committed 
suicide  near  the  grave  of  Confucius,  but  by  order  of  the 
Throne  his  body  was  subsequently  dismembered  and  the 
head  exhibited  at  his  native  city  (Ho  Chien-fu),  and  many 
scores  of  his  adherents,  especially  those  Avho  had  conspired 
against  the  Empress,  were  put  to  death. 

Throughout  the  troublous  reign  of  the  new  Emperor 
Ch’ung-chen  (1627-1644)  the  Senior  Empress  lived  on 
terms  of  happy  intimacy  and  affection  with  him  and  with 
his  Consort,  respected  and  beloved  of  the  populace.  In 
1642,  upon  the  marriage  of  the  Heir  Apparent,  she  took 
up  her  residence,  as  custom  prescribed,  in  the  Palace  of 
Benevolent  Old  Age. 

Her  death  was  as  meritorious  as  her  life  had  been.  In 
1644,  when  Peking  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  rebel 
Li  Tzu-ch’eng  and  the  city  was  being  ravaged  and  burned 
by  his  troops,  the  Emperor  sent  her  a  message  bidding  her 
commit  suicide,  but  in  the  tumult  and  confusion  the 
messenger  failed  to  reach  her.  When  she  heard  that 
Li  Tzu-ch’eng  was  battering  at  the  gates  of  the  Forbidden 
City,  she  called  for  a  sword,  but  was  unable  to  deal  herself 
a  fatal  blow,  and  her  attendants  endeavoured  to  dissuade 
her  from  seeking  death.  Failing  with  the  sword,  she 
hanged  herself  with  her  girdle,  but  was  cut  down  by  her 
servants  and  urged  to  seek  safety  in  flight.  Angrily  she 
stamped  her  foot,  saying  :  “You  have  disgraced  me,” 
and  ran  to  a  side  room,  where  again  she  tried  to  hang 
herself,  but  some  of  Li  Tzu-ch’eng’s  men  arrived  just  in 

82 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


time  to  cut  her  down.  As  she  came  to  her  senses  the  rebels 
gathered  around  her,  praising  her  beauty.  One  of  them, 
who  seemed  to  be  a  leader,  exclaimed  :  “We  are  now  in 
the  Palace  of  the  late  Emperor’s  Avidow;  this  must  be 
she.  Never  have  I  seen  so  beautiful  a  face.  Let  no  one 
lay  hands  on  her.  She  must  await  our  Chief’s  orders.” 
But  some  declared  that  this  was  not  the  Goddess  Chang 
— that  she  had  fled  in  disguise  and  escaped — whilst  others 
said  she  was  dead. 

The  rebels  were  still  disputing  as  to  her  identity,  while 
she  sat  silent,  when  some  eunuchs  entered  with  an  elderly 
woman  who  was  Li’s  personal  attendant  and  who  had 
been  ordered  by  him  to  arrange  the  Palace  concubines  in 
batches,  according  to  their  age  and  beauty,  for  his  in¬ 
spection.  The  eunuchs  pointed  out  the  Empress,  saying  : 
“  That  is  the  Goddess  Chang,  wife  of  the  late  Emperor.” 
She  was  placed  in  the  care  of  attendants,  who  tried  to 
console  her.  “  Lady  Chang,  do  not  be  afraid,”  they 
said.  “  You  are  so  beautiful  that  when  our  great  Prince 
inspects  the  concubines  to-morrow  he  will  surely  choose 
you  for  his  Empress.” 

In  her  grief  and  despair,  the  Empress  felt  as  if  her 
breast  were  being  pierced  by  a  myriad  arrows,  and  she 
was  wondering  how  she  could  contrive  to  kill  herself,  when 
a  loud  voice  called  out  from  the  courtyard  :  “  Where  is 
the  Empress  Dowager,  Goddess  Chang  ?  ”  This  was  one 
of  the  chief  commanders  of  the  rebels,  named  Li  Yen. 
Before  Peking  had  fallen,  some  of  the  eunuchs  had  gone 
over  to  the  rebels,  and  had  informed  them  of  the  where¬ 
abouts  of  the  most  beautiful  women,  whom  they  divided 
into  three  classes. 

Li  Tzu-ch’eng  had  promised  thirty  concubines  to  each 
of  his  Generals,  and  a  list  of  all  the  women  in  the  Palace 
had  been  placed  in  Li  Yen’s  hands.  Li  Yen  was  a  licen¬ 
tiate  of  Honan  Province  who  had  joined  the  rebellion,  a 
fluent  expounder  of  moral  philosophy.  Seeing  that  the 

83 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


Senior  Empress’s  name  was  at  the  head  of  the  list  of 
women,  he  sighed  deeply  and  said  :  “  How  dare  these 
wretched  eunuchs  desecrate  Her  Majesty’s  name  in  this 
way  ?  She  stands  too  high  for  such  disgrace.  I,  who 
come  from  her  own  province,  must  save  her  from  this 
outrage.” 

So  he  hurried  into  the  Palace,  and  on  finding  her,  bade 
two  handmaidens  lead  her  to  one  of  the  Throne  rooms, 
where  he  assisted  her  to  mount  the  dais.  Li  Yen  then 
dressed  himself  in  Court  robes  and  made  obeisance  before 
her  nine  times.  Placing  her  in  the  charge  of  attendants, 
he  hurried  away  to  find  Li  Tzu-ch’eng.  That  same  evening 
she  succeeded  in  killing  herself.  When  they  found  her 
body,  she  was  attired  in  black  silk  with  gold  embroidery 
and  full  sleeves ;  her  face  was  veiled  with  yellow  crape  and 
her  hair  neatly  dressed;  she  looked  like  a  woman  of 
thirty.  Those  who  saw  the  serenity  of  her  face  felt  as  if 
some  heavenly  visitant  hovered  near  them,  so  happy 
was  she  in  her  death. 

Li  Yen  buried  her  in  the  courtyard  of  her  Palace  and 
did  homage  at  her  obsequies.  Meanwhile,  Li  Tzu-ch’eng 
had  given  orders  that  the  late  Emperor  and  his  Consort 
should  be  buried,  but  made  no  public  announcement 
concerning  the  death  of  the  Senior  Empress.  It  was 
freely  rumoured  that  she  had  been  taken  alive  by  one  of 
the  rebels.  On  the  same  day  the  concubine  Jen  1  sur¬ 
rendered  to  Li  Tzu-ch’eng,  and  to  increase  her  own  im¬ 
portance  told  him  that  she  was  the  Senior  Empress,  the 
wife  of  Hsi  Tsung.  Li  Tzu-ch’eng  believed  her,  and  later, 
on  his  retreat  before  the  Manchus,  took  her  with  him. 
Thus  it  came  to  pass  that  in  the  Court  of  the  fugitive 
Mings  at  Nanking  calumnious  tongues  insulted  this  noble 
woman’s  memory,  and  it  was  noised  abroad  that  she  had 
become  the  mistress  of  the  rebel  Chief. 

There  were  still  eunuchs  and  women  at  that  Court  who 
1  Vide  supra,  p.  67. 

84 


Scenes  of  Court  Life.  By  Chiu  Ying  (Fifteenth  Century). 
(. British  Museum  collection.) 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


had  been  of  the  faction  of  Wei  Chung-hsien  and  who  were 
only  too  eager  to  besmirch  her  spotless  reputation.  The 
new  Ming  Emperor,  Prince  Fu,  was  in  the  hands  of  evil 
advisers  and  believed  these  cruel  falsehoods,  so  that  no 
canonisation  was  conferred  upon  her  until  the  following 
year,  when  her  death  was  undeniably  confirmed.  A 
eunuch  eye-witness  of  her  death  described  it  to  the 
Manchu  Regent,  Prince  Jui,  who  gave  orders  that  she 
should  be  buried  beside  her  husband,  at  his  mausoleum 
to  the  north  of  Peking.  So  came  she  to  her  honourable 
rest. 

After  the  dispersion  of  Li  Tzu-ch’eng’s  force  by  the 
Manchus,  the  Jen  concubine,  who  had  accumulated  great 
store  of  treasure  from  the  Palace,  moved  to  Wu  T’ai 
Mountain,  west  of  Peking,  and  her  abode  became  the 
resort  of  many  lawless  characters.  She  still  claimed  to 
be  the  Empress  Consort  of  Hsi  Tsung,  and  in  that  capacity 
extorted  money  from  the  common  people.  Eventually 
complaints  were  lodged  at  Court,  and  she  was  arrested 
and  brought  to  Peking.  On  her  arrival  there  she  declared 
she  was  indeed  the  Empress,  and  some  there  were  who 
believed  her.  But  the  eunuchs  of  the  Court  had  no 
difficulty  in  proving  her  to  be  a  base  pretender.  The 
romantic  chroniclers  aver  that  she  was  compelled  to  try 
on  one  of  the  Goddess  Chang’s  tiny  shoes,  before  which 
test  she  failed  ignominiously.  Be  this  as  it  may,  she  was 
allowed  to  commit  suicide,  and  thereafter  the  memory  of 
“  Precious  Pearl,”  the  illustrious  and  virtuous  Empress, 
has  shone  undimmed  throughout  the  centuries. 


85 


CHAPTER  III 

LI  TZU-CH’ENG’S  REBELLION  AND  THE  FALL 

OF  PEKING 

The  swil't.  decline  and  pitiful  end  of  the  Ming  dynasty 
was  primarily  due  to  the  corruption  and  incompetence 
of  its  later  Monarchs  and  to  the  licentiousness  of  their 
Court,  which  gave  high  office  and  the  direction  of  State 
affairs  to  eunuchs.  Its  doom  was  plain-writ  upon  the 
wall  for  many  years  before  the  great  rebellion  of  Id  Tzu- 
ch’eng  ended  triumphantly  in  the  Throne  Hall  of  the 
Forbidden  City,  because,  as  one  historian  has  put  it, 
“  the  ruling  house  had  ceased  to  display  those  moral 
qualities  without  which  no  power  will  long  be  tolerated 
by  a  people  like  the  Chinese.” 

There  had  been  serious  uprisings  in  various  parts  of 
the  Empire — notably  in  Kueichou  and  Shantung — since 
the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century;  in  1622  the 
Dutch  had  appeared  upon  the  scene,  seizing  the  Pes¬ 
cadores  and  adding  new  terrors  to  the  life  of  Chinese 
officials.  In  1625,  the  rising  power  of  Nurhachi  and  his 
Manchu  armies  had  been  signalised  by  the  establish¬ 
ment  of  his  capital  at  Moukden.  But  the  position  of  the 
dynasty  only  became  desperate  when,  in  1641,  Li  Tzu- 
ch’eng’s  rebellion  (which  had  been  fitfully  active  for  some 
ten  years)  assumed  formidable  proportions  and,  sweeping 
northwards,  carried  all  before  it. 

Li  Tzu-ch’eng  himself  stands  out  as  a  picturesque 

86 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


figure  against  the  lurid  background  of  those  days,  a 
great  soldier  and  something  of  a  politician.  Cruel,  with 
all  the  ruthless  ferocity  of  the  Oriental,  unscrupulous  in 
love  and  war,  full  of  the  lust  of  power  and  wealth,  he 
possessed,  nevertheless,  certain  redeeming  qualities — 
courage,  and  a  capacity  for  sudden  impulses  of  gener¬ 
osity.  His  most  notable  characteristic,  common  amongst 
fighting  men  of  humble  origin  who  have  risen  to  the 
purple,  was  his  belief  in  auguries,  omens  and  portents. 
Many  of  the  most  momentous  decisions  of  his  career  were 
the  outcome  of  his  superstitious  beliefs  and  fears. 

He  was  born  in  Shensi,  about  the  year  160G.  Historians 
declare  that  in  his  early  youth  he  had  fore-knowledge  of 
his  great  destiny.  One  of  them  narrates  the  following 
story.  As  a  young  man  he  was  addicted  to  hunting  and 
hawking,  and  would  wander  far  afield  with  congenial 
spirits.  One  day,  in  the  depth  of  winter,  he  found  him¬ 
self  with  two  intimate  friends  in  a  remote  country  district. 
As  evening  fell  they  sat  under  a  tree  to  rest,  and  refreshed 
themselves  with  deep  draughts  of  wine.  A  dust  storm 
was  raging.  Suddenly  Li  turned  to  his  friends  and  said  : 
“  Listen  !  If  the  Imperial  Throne  is  destined  to  be  mine, 
a  sign  will  be  given  us  to-night  in  the  shape  of  a  heavy 
snowstorm.”  With  this,  he  planted  an  arrow  in  the 
ground  and  added  :  “If  Heaven  is  on  my  side  let  the 
snow  be  level  with  the  top  of  this  arrow.”  His  friends 
replied  :  “  If  you  become  the  Son  of  Heaven  we  are 
your  men  till  death.”  Soon  after,  the  sky  began  to 
darken  and  the  wind  fell.  Snow  began  to  fall  gently, 
and  gradually  increased,  until  by  midnight  the  top  of 
the  arrow  could  just  be  seen.  Li  and  his  friends,  greatly 
impressed,  walked  home  through  the  snow,  and  from  that 
day  his  mind  was  fixed  on  the  ambition  to  overturn  the 
Ming  dynasty.  He  turned  brigand,  and  after  eleven  years 
of  perilous  adventures  found  himself  at  the  head  of  a 
large  army. 


87 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


To  give  another  instance  of  the  superstitions  which 
continually  influenced  this  born  leader  of  men :  in  an 
engagement  near  the  strategic  pass  at  T’ung  Kuan  his 
left  eye  was  pierced  by  an  arrow.  An  ancient  prophecy 
had  predicted  that  the  Empire  would  be  conquered 
by  a  one-eyed  man,  and  Li  was  therefore  greatly 
elated  at  receiving  this  auspicious  wound;  indeed,  the 
incident,  widely  discussed,  brought  many  new  followers 
to  his  flag. 

And  again,  after  the  fall  of  Peking  in  1644,  Li  Tzu-ch’eng 
entered  the  Forbidden  City  by  the  Southern,  or  Dynastic, 
Gate.  On  arriving  at  the  main  entrance,  the  “  Gate  of 
Heaven’s  Grace,”  as  it  was  then  called,  he  stopped  and 
aimed  an  arrow  at  the  character  signifying  “  heaven,” 
painted  over  the  gateway,  the  conviction  having  suddenly 
seized  him  that  if  his  shot  were  successful  in  hitting  the 
mark,  it  would  mean  that  Heaven  approved  of  his 
mounting  the  Throne.  His  arrow  lodged  just  below  the 
character,  and  he  and  those  with  him  took  it  for  an 
omen  that  he  had  been  rejected  by  the  Most  High,  and 
that  his  victorious  course  was  run. 

In  1641  Li  Tzu-ch’eng,  victoriously  advancing,  laid 
siege  to  Honan-fu.  When  his  troops  had  completely 
invested  the  city,  Prince  Fu,  the  Emperor’s  uncle,  whose 
fief  was  the  province  of  Honan,  summoned  his  generals 
to  a  banquet  at  his  Palace,  and  they  arranged  to  raise  a 
force  of  a  thousand  volunteers,  who  would  let  themselves 
down  by  ropes  from  the  city  wall  and  make  a  successful 
night  sortie.  Dissolute  and  drunken  as  he  was,  the 
favourite  son  of  Wan  Li  made  a  brave  defence,  until  Li 
Tzu-ch’eng  delivered  a  surprise  attack  from  the  north, 
and  overpowering  the  guards,  took  the  city  by  assault. 
When  all  was  confusion,  Prince  Fu  had  himself  let  down 
from  the  city  wall  and  escaped  in  disguise  to  a  neigh¬ 
bouring  temple,  but  he  was  discovered  and  brought  into 
the  presence  of  Li  Tzu-ch’eng.  As  he  entered  the  camp 

88 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


he  perceived  the  Commander  of  the  city  garrison  in 
chains,  who  called  to  him  and  said  :  “  Prince,  a  man  in 
your  exalted  station  has  a  duty  to  the  State  to  fulfil; 
he  must  die  bravely.  Let  not  Y our  Highness  bend  the 
knee  in  submission  to  these  dogs  of  rebels.”  Prince  Fu 
made  no  reply,  but  when  led  before  Li  Tzu-ch’eng,  refused 
to  speak  and  was  promptly  dispatched.  After  killing 
him,  Li  mixed  a  cupful  of  his  blood  in  a  dish  of  hashed 
venison,  and  called  it  the  “  Red  pottage  of  fortune  and 
blessing,”  this  being  a  pun  on  the  Prince’s  name,  which 
means  “  good  fortune.”  He  was  ever  a  grim  jester. 

His  chief  associate  and  fellow-rebel,  almost  as  famous 
a  guerrilla  leader  as  Li  himself,  was  Chang  Hsien-clmng,  a 
Shensi  Mahomedan,  also  a  grim  jester  in  his  way.  While 
Li  was  besieging  Honan-fu,  Chang  possessed  himself  of 
the  rich  city  of  Hsiang-Yang,  in  Hupei.  He  won  it  by 
covering  a  hundred  miles  with  a  small  force  of  cavalry 
in  twenty-four  hours,  and  surprising  the  garrison,  whose 
scouts  had  reported  the  country  free  of  rebels.  Having 
taken  possession  of  the  city  and  burned  the  Prefect’s 
yamen,  he  seized  the  person  of  Prince  Hsiang,  a  cousin 
of  the  Emperor,  and  over-lord  of  Hupei.  He  brought 
him  into  the  audience  hall  of  his  own  Palace,  and  setting 
a  beaker  of  wine  before  him,  said  :  “I  have  no  grudge 
against  Your  Highness,  and  you  are  a  harmless  person 
enough,  but  I  have  a  fierce  longing  to  see  the  head  of 
General  Yang  separated  from  his  body.1  But  alas,  Yang 
is  not  available  at  the  moment,  being  far  from  here;  and 
so  I  propose  to  make  use  of  Your  Highness’s  head  instead. 
For  if  I  now  remove  it,  the  Emperor,  wrath  at  the  killing 
of  one  of  his  own  kinsmen,  may  see  fit  to  order  the  death 
of  Yang,  who  should  have  been  able  to  prevent  this 
abominable  murder.  Will  Your  Highness  drink  as  much 
of  the  wine  as  you  can  carry?  ”  He  then  put  him  to 

1  Yang  Ssu-ch’ang  was  the  Ming  Commander-in-chief  in  Hupei, 
who  had  defeated  Chang  on  more  than  one  occasion. 

89 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


death  and  burned  the  body.  The  same  ruffian  is  alleged 
by  Chinese  historians  to  have  made  a  dish  of  a  wife  who 
had  ceased  to  please  him,  putting  into  practice  the 
proverb  which  says,  “  The  favourite  of  to-day  is  served 
up  at  to-morrow’s  banquet.” 

The  news  of  the  fall  of  Hsiang- Yang  created  dismay  at 
Court.  As  Chang  had  foreseen,  the  Censors,  trembling 
at  the  prospect  of  the  approaching  cataclysm,  ordered 
that  General  Yang  be  put  to  death  for  failing  to  stem 
the  rebellion,  but  he  saved  them  the  trouble  by  committing 
suicide. 

In  the  same  year,  1641,  Li  Tzu-ch’eng  laid  siege  to  the 
great  city  of  K’ai  Feng-fu  in  Honan ;  but  its  garrison  made 
such  a  stout  defence,  and  its  fifty-feet  wall  was  so  im¬ 
pervious  to  his  mining  and  artillery,  that  he  was  obliged 
to  desist  from  the  attempt.  Early  in  1643,  having  sub¬ 
jugated  all  the  surrounding  country,  he  made  a  close 
investment  of  the  city,  determined  to  take  it  at  all  costs. 
The  siege  lasted  until  September,  and  the  garrison,  being- 
well  supplied  with  food,  showed  no  signs  of  yielding  to 
the  rebels.  When  at  last  the  city  fell,  it  brought  no  rich 
reward  of  booty  to  the  conquerors,  but  only  a  harvest  of 
death.  Enraged  by  its  stubborn  resistance,  and  fearing 
the  advance  of  a  relieving  force  from  Shensi,  Li  Tzu-ch’eng 
determined  to  flood  the  city  by  cutting  the  banks  of  the 
Yellow  River.  Curiously  enough,  the  Commander  of  the 
garrison  had  conceived  a  similar  plan  for  flooding  the 
rebel  camp,  and  had  begun  to  sap  the  river’s  embank¬ 
ment  at  a  spot  favourable  for  that  purpose.  Li  Tzu- 
ch’eng’s  spies  warned  him  of  the  danger,  upon  which  he 
moved  his  camp  to  higher  ground  and  made  large  provision 
of  boats  and  rafts  for  his  army.  Having  done  this,  he 
compelled  the  country  people  for  miles  around  to  cut  away 
the  embankments  at  Nia  Chia-k’ou.  Over  a  hundred 
thousand  of  these  unfortunates  perished  when  the  river, 
swollen  by  heavy  rains,  finally  burst  its  banks,  and  so 

90 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


fierce  was  the  flood  that  ten  thousand  of  the  rebels  were 
drowned.  It  entered  K’ai  Feng-fu  by  the  northern  gate 
and  carried  swift  destruction  throughout  the  city.  Of  a 
population  estimated  at  over  a  million,  scarcely  a  tenth 
escaped.  The  Governor  and  some  of  the  higher  officials 
saved  themselves  in  boats,  and  several  Princes  with  their 
wives  and  concubines  took  refuge  in  a  tower  on  the  wall, 
where  they  nearly  died  of  starvation  before  rescuing 
parties  reached  them.  When  Li  Tzu-ch’eng  entered  the 
city  in  a  boat,  lie  found  no  opportunity  for  plunder  or 
reprisals. 

From  Honan,  Li  marched  into  Shensi,  regaling  his 
troops  with  three  days  of  looting  and  rapine  at  Hsi-an. 
Here,  clad  in  Imperial  dragon  robes,  he  reviewed  his 
forces,  while  the  citizens  knelt  at  his  passing.  Thence 
he  proceeded  to  his  native  place  and  offered  sacrifice  at 
his  ancestral  tombs,  which  had  been  desecrated  by  the 
Imperial  authorities.  On  the  first  day  of  the  new  year 
(1644)  he  assumed  the  Imperial  title  of  Yung  Ch’ang,  as 
the  founder  of  the  “  Great  Obedient”  dynasty;  he  also 
canonised  his  ancestors  for  four  generations  as  Emperors 
in  the  realms  above.  He  would  have  taken  this  step  at 
a  much  earlier  date  had  it  not  been  that  he  had  doubts 
as  to  the  possible  rivalry  of  his  old  colleague  and  fellow- 
rebel,  Chang,  who  was  believed  to  cherish  schemes  of 
establishing  a  kingdom  of  his  own.  But  Chang  now  sent 
rich  gifts  to  Li  and  a  letter  acknowledging  him  as  Emperor. 
So  Li  took  heart  of  grace  and  proceeded  to  make  for 
himself  a  new  nobility  and  a  Court;  he  appointed  six 
ministries,  with  presidents  and  their  staffs,  and  created 
nine  marquises,  seventy-two  earls,  thirty  viscounts  and 
fifty-five  barons.  At  this  time  his  army  consisted  of 
600,000  cavalry  and  400,000  infantry.  He  sent  Imperial 
mandates  throughout  the  country  denouncing  the  Ming 
Emperor,  in  these  terms  :  “  His  Majesty,  the  present 
Emperor,  cannot  be  called  an  utter  fool.  He  stands 

91 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


alone,  but  the  oppression  of  his  officials  is  like  unto  the 
heat  of  a  burning  fiery  furnace.  His  Ministers  serve  only 
their  own  selfish  ends  and  form  conspiracies  among  them¬ 
selves.  Loyal  men  are  few  and  far  betAveen.  The  prisons 
are  full  of  unfortunate  captives,  and  the  officials  are  devoid 
of  gratitude  for  favours  received.  The  people  are  so 
oppressed  by  their  exactions,  that  in  their  misery  they 
abandon  their  homes.” 

New  Year’s  Day  1644  in  Peking  dawned  darkly  under 
a  fierce  dust-storm,  and  an  earthquake  occurred  at  Feng 
Yang  in  Anhui,  near  to  the  birthplace  of  the  founder  of 
the  dynasty.  The  Court  was  in  despair.  The  Grand 
Secretary  Li  Chien-ta’i,  a  native  of  Shansi,  who  had  made 
an  enormous  fortune  as  owner  of  the  well-known  Ssu  Tu- 
heng  banking-house  (which  still  exists),  came  forward  at 
audience  and  proposed  to  place  his  wealth  at  the  service 
of  the  Throne  and  to  lead  an  army  in  person  against  the 
rebels  in  his  native  province.  The  news  of  Li  Tzu-ch’eng’s 
assumption  of  the  Imperial  title  had  come  as  a  great 
shock  to  the  Monarch,  who  sorrowfully  remarked  to  Li 
Chien-t’ai  :  “  My  conscience  is  clear.  I  have  not  deserved 
to  forfeit  the  mandate  of  Heaven;  nevertheless,  ruin 
confronts  me  on  all  sides,  and  the  Empire  is  slipping  from 
me.  The  inheritance  which  my  ancestors  won,  after  being 
‘  combed  by  the  wind  and  bathed  in  the  rain,’  is  rapidly 
being  lost.  How  can  I  bear  to  face  them  in  the  next 
world?  Gladly  would  I  march  to  battle  at  the  head  of 
my  army  and  perish  on  the  sandy  plain.  How  can  I 
ever  close  my  eyes  in  peaceful  death  while  the  Empire 
is  in  a  ferment?  ”  At  this  the  Monarch  burst  into  tears. 
Thereupon  all  the  Grand  Secretaries  present  asked  to  be 
allowed  to  lead  the  army  into  battle  in  his  place  (a  task 
which  they  were  no  more  fitted  to  undertake  than  the 
Sovereign).  The  Emperor  refused,  whereupon  Li  Chien- 
t’ai  again  kotowed  and  said  :  “  I  am  ready  to  pay  all  the 
expenses  of  the  army  and  to  march  on  the  rebels.” 

92 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


Ch’ung-chen  thanked  him  warmly  :  “I  myself  shall  see 
you  off  on  your  journey,  as  ancient  custom  prescribes.” 
He  bestowed  upon  him  an  Imperial  sword  and  full  powers 
in  the  field. 

After  a  few  days  of  preparation,  the  Emperor  repaired 
to  the  Temple  of  Ancestors  and  informed  the  august  shades 
of  his  decision ;  then  he  ascended  to  the  top  of  the  tower 
at  the  Ch’ien  Men  facing  the  Palace.  The  troops  made  a 
brave  show,  drawn  up  in  line  extending  from  the  entrance 
to  the  Forbidden  City  as  far  as  the  Temple  of  Heaven. 
The  whole  Court  was  in  attendance  and  the  musicians 
played  martial  airs.  His  Majesty  gave  a  banquet  after 
the  review,  at  which  he  presided,  and  passed  the  wine 
round  seven  times.  Thrice  he  pledged  the  health  of  Li 
Chien-ta’i  in  a  golden  beaker,  and  handed  to  him  a 
patent  inscribed  :  “  Acting  as  Generalissimo  on  Our 
Imperial  behalf.” 

The  troops  then  marched  off,  and  the  Emperor  watched 
them  leave  the  city.  A  little  way  beyond  the  city  gates 
Li  Chien-t’ai’s  sedan-chair  pole  broke,  which  was  regarded 
as  an  evil  omen.  The  expedition  was  a  dismal  failure. 
Long  before  it  had  reached  Shansi  the  rebels  had  captured 
Li’s  native  city  and  had  looted  most  of  his  family  treasure. 
Many  of  his  troops  died  of  starvation  on  the  way. 

Meanwhile,  Li  Tzu-ch’eng  was  marching  northwards 
through  Shansi,  had  crossed  the  Yellow  River  without 
opposition,  and  laid  siege  to  T’ai  Yuan-fu.  The  Governor 
made  a  gallant  resistance,  but  the  city  was  betrayed  to 
the  rebels  by  one  of  his  staff. 

Li  Tzu-ch’eng  entered  Prince  Chin’s  Palace  and  cap¬ 
tured  the  wretched  Prince  (a  descendant  of  Yung  lo). 
Him  he  slew,  together  with  forty-six  high  officials.  On 
hearing  the  news,  the  Emperor  issued  a  pitiful  decree 
deploring  the  calamities  inflicted  on  his  people  by  the 
rebellion,  as  well  as  the  inefficiency  of  his  officials  and 
his  own  lack  of  virtue  in  governing.  “  In  the  watches 

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ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


of  the  night,”  he  said,  “  I  mourn  over  these  things  and 
my  self-abasement  knows  no  limit.  From  this  time  forth 
I  am  determined  to  turn  over  a  new  leaf  and  to  avert  the 
consequences  of  my  errors.  I  mean  to  strengthen  our 
resources  by  employing  able  men  in  office,  and  by  adher¬ 
ence  to  time-honoured  tradition  to  depart  from  evil.  By 
merciful  forbearance  I  intend  to  win  my  subjects’  love, 
and  by  remitting  unjust  taxation  to  make  good  their  lack 
of  funds.  I  command  that  lists  be  drawn  up  of  all 
worthy  and  honest  men  who  in  the  past  may  have  been 
dismissed  from  office,  so  that  they  may  be  reinstated. 
To  any  member  of  the  local  gentry  who  shall  re-capture 
a  city  from  the  rebels  I  will  grant  hereditary  rank.  To 
all  who  return  to  their  allegiance  and  repent  them  of 
their  sins  I  promise  pardon  and  high  rank ;  while  any  one 
who  may  capture  the  rebels  Li  Tzu-ch’eng  and  Chang 
Hsien- chung  will  receive  from  me  a  marquisate  and 
corresponding  official  rank.” 

“  The  Devil  was  sick,”  but  the  time  for  issuing  such 
decrees  was  past;  nothing  could  now  save  the  doomed 
dynasty.  When  a  first  detachment  of  rebels  entered 
Chihli  and  captured  Ho  Chien-fu  the  Court  dispatched 
the  eunuch  Tu  Hsiin  to  the  Chihli  frontier  at  Hsiian-hua 
to  stop  their  advance  from  that  side.  This  was  a  fatal 
step,  for  Tu  was  a  coward  and  a  traitor.  He  had  already 
advised  the  Emperor  to  surrender,  saying  :  “You  had 
better  abdicate,  you  and  I  will  have  plenty  to  live  upon 
in  retirement.”  With  this  powerful  eunuch  at  the  head 
of  military  affairs,  interfering  in  matters  of  which  he  was 
profoundly  ignorant,  the  situation  was  desperate,  but 
none  dared  to  oppose  him. 

A  Censor  now  advised  him  to  send  the  Heir  Apparent 
to  Nanking,  and  to  place  his  other  two  sons,  the  Princes 
Ting  and  Yung,  in  charge  of  the  defence  of  Ning-kuo  and 
Tai-ping  in  Anhui,  near  the  birthplace  of  the  ancestors 
of  the  dynasty.  While  perusing  this  memorial  the 

94 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


Emperor  walked  nervously  round  the  Palace  grounds, 
sighing  and  muttering  to  himself.  He  had  made  up  his 
mind  to  agree,  when  one  of  the  Grand  Secretaries  told 
him  that  the  scheme  was  bruited  abroad  and  was  creating 
a  bad  impression.  The  wretched  Emperor  again  hesitated, 
and  finally  said  :  “It  is  the  duty  of  the  Sovereign  and 
his  family  to  die  for  the  State.  I  shall  order  the  Princes 
to  remain  in  Peking.”  Urgent  messages  were  sent  to 
Wu  San-kuei  to  defend  Shan  Hai-kuan  and  to  dispatch 
all  the  troops  he  could  spare  to  the  metropolis. 

On  arrival  at  Ning  Wu-fu,  a  city  of  Shansi  situated  just 
inside  the  Great  Wall,  Li  Tzu-ch’eng  sent  forward  a  herald 
to  announce  that  all  its  inhabitants  would  be  put  to  the 
sword  unless  the  city  surrendered  within  five  days. 
General  Chou  Yii-chi,  who  had  retreated  hither  from 
Ping  Yang,  made  use  of  cannon  which  had  been  cast 
by  the  Jesuit  priests,  and  did  great  execution  amongst 
the  rebels.  When  his  gunpowder  was  almost  exhausted, 
and  the  assault  continued  with  undiminished  vigour,  his 
men  tried  to  persuade  him  to  surrender.  The  old  General 
angrily  replied  :  “  Why  such  cowards  ?  If  you  win  the 
day  you  will  gain  great  glory,  as  brave  and  loyal  men. 
When  you  find  you  can  hold  out  no  longer,  all  you  have 
to  do  is  to  bind  me  and  hand  me  over  to  the  rebels.  You 
can  blame  me  for  holding  out  so  long.”  His  troops  were 
ashamed  and  proceeded  to  lay  an  ambush  for  the  rebels 
by  posting  a  few  men  at  certain  gates  and  then  opening 
them  to  the  enemy.  In  marched  the  rebels,  whereupon 
the  defenders  closed  the  barriers  at  the  end  of  certain 
streets,  caught  them  in  a  trap,  and  slaughtered  them  in 
thousands.  But  Li  Tzu-ch’eng  continued  to  bombard 
the  city  walls  with  cannon;  as  one  portion  collapsed,  the 
breach  was  hurriedly  repaired  by  the  defenders.  Four 
of  Li  Tzu-ch’eng’s  bravest  lieutenants  were  slain,  and  Li 
had  almost  made  up  his  mind  to  retreat,  when  his  aide- 
de-camp  protested,  saying  :  “  We  outnumber  them  by  a 

95 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


hundred  to  one ;  if  we  persist,  in  spite  of  our  losses,  victory 
is  certain.  It  would  be  so  even  if  the  odds  were  only  ten 
to  one.” 

Li  Tzu-ch’eng  was  only  too  willing,  and  urged  his  men 
on.  As  one  company  was  wiped  out  another  pressed 
forward  to  take  its  place.  When  the  corpses  were  piled 
ten  feet  high  the  garrison  was  exhausted  and  the  city 
fell.  General  Chou  Yii-chi  refused  to  yield;  he  directed 
the  street  fighting  until  his  horse  was  killed,  whereupon 
he  rushed  headlong  among  the  rebels,  killing  several 
before  they  captured  him,  pierced  through  and  through 
with  arrows  as  numerous  as  the  quills  on  the  porcupine. 
Still  he  resisted  them,  so  Li  Tzu-ch’eng  had  him  tied  to 
a  lofty  beam  and  shot  at  with  arrows  until  he  died,  after 
which  his  corpse  was  decapitated.  His  wife  and  hand¬ 
maidens  fled  to  a  small  guard  house  on  the  Great  Wall 
and  from  there  shot  arrows  at  the  rebels,  who  set  fire  to 
the  building.  All  of  them  perished  in  the  flames.  No 
one  in  the  city  surrendered  :  all  were  put  to  death. 

When  Li  appeared  before  the  gates  of  Ta  T’ung-fu, 
General  Chiang  Hsiung  and  the  treacherous  eunuch 
Commander-in-chief,  Tu  Hsiin,  agreed  to  surrender,  though 
the  Governor,  Wei  Ching-yuan,  and  his  army  had  taken 
a  solemn  oath,  consecrated,  in  accordance  with  ancient 
custom,  by  the  blood  of  a  sheep  smeared  on  the  lips, 
that  they  would  hold  out  to  the  death.  When  the  rebels 
arrived,  Chiang  Hsiung’s  men,  some  of  whom  were  posted 
at  each  gate,  treacherously  surrendered  the  city.  Governor 
Wei  on  horseback  rushed  forward,  but  seeing  that  he  had 
been  betrayed  allowed  himself  to  be  taken.  They  led 
him  to  Li  Tzu-ch’eng,  who  offered  him  official  rank.  Wei 
sat  down  instead  of  kneeling  in  his  presence,  and  called 
out :  “  May  the  Emperor  live  for  ever  !  ”  Then  he  wept. 
Li  praised  his  loyalty,  saying  :  “  I  will  never  slay  so  brave 
a  man.”  Governor  Wei  then  rose  and  dashed  his  head 
against  the  stone  balustrade.  The  blood  poured  forth, 

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THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


and  the  rebels  took  him  away.  Meeting  the  traitor, 
General  Chiang,  he  reviled  him,  saying  :  “  Accursed  rebel, 
you  have  violated  the  solemn  oath  which  you  took  before 
the  Almighty;  God  will  reward  you  according  to  your 
crime.”  Then  the  rebels  brought  in  his  mother,  who  was 
over  eighty  years  of  age,  to  induce  him  to  yield.  He  said  : 
“  Mother,  you  are  very  old  and  must  do  as  you  think 
best.  I,  your  son,  am  a  Minister  of  State,  and  death  is 
the  only  way  for  me.”  His  mother  was  led  away,  and 
he  said  to  the  bystanders  :  “I  will  curse  the  rebels  no 
more,  in  the  hope  that  they  will  spare  my  mother’s  life.” 
He  hanged  himself  in  a  Buddhist  shrine,  and  the  rebels 
praised  his  loyal  courage.  They  provided  shelter  for  his 
wife  and  family  and  bade  his  mother  join  them.  Then 
they  put  to  death  all  of  the  Imperial  family  who  were  in 
the  city. 

When  the  news  reached  Peking,  Li  Chien-t’ai  (who  had 
returned  from  his  inglorious  expedition)  advised  the 
Emperor  to  flee  to  Nanking.  Ch’ung  Chen  called  his 
Ministers  to  an  audience  on  the  Palace  terrace,  and  after 
telling  them  of  this  advice  said  :  “  The  Sovereign  must 
die  for  the  Altars  of  the  Tutelary  Deities ;  whither  should 
I  flee?  ” 

One  of  the  most  loyal  and  upright  of  his  Ministers  was 
the  Grand  Secretary  Chiang  Te-ying.  In  the  early  stages 
of  the  rebellion  he  had  advised  an  active  policy  against 
Li,  and  had  remonstrated  with  the  Emperor  for  taxing 
the  people  so  heavily  to  provide  funds  for  a  non-existent 
army. 

At  the  audience  on  the  terrace,  Chiang  again  advised 
that  the  Heir  Apparent  should  be  sent  to  Nanking,  and 
recommended  that  a  decree  be  issued,  beginning  as  follows  : 
“  Of  late,  evil-minded  persons  have  been  collecting  unjust 
taxes  on  the  pretext  of  providing  army  funds,  so  that 
our  subjects  have  been  cruelly  oppressed  and  the  interests 
of  our  State  have  been  placed  in  jeopardy.”  When  the 
u  97 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 

Emperor  heard  this  preamble,  he  became  very  angry  and 
said  :  “  I  have  only  raised  these  taxes  in  order  to  pay 
my  troops  and  not  for  my  own  benefit.”  Chiang  replied  : 
“  I  am  aware  of  this,  Your  Majesty,  but  the  taxation  is 
very  heavy,  and  I  venture  to  ask  you,  is  the  proportionate 
number  of  men  and  horses  forthcoming?  The  Viceroy 
of  Chichou  should  have  45,000  troops;  he  has  only 
25,000.  The  Viceroy  of  Pao  Ting-fu  should  have  30,000; 
he  has  2,000.  And  so  it  is  with  the  garrisons  around 
the  capital;  the  money  has  all  been  wasted  and  misap¬ 
propriated.” 

The  Emperor  was  very  wrath,  and  accused  Chiang  of 
conspiring  against  him,  so  the  Minister  tendered  his 
resignation.  Ch’ung  clien  intended  to  punish  him,  but 
he  escaped  when  the  city  fell.  Hoping  against  hope,  the 
Emperor  now  conferred  an  earldom  on  Wu  San-kuei  and 
bade  him  hurry  to  the  defence  of  the  capital.  The  eunuch 
Wang  Ch’eng-en  was  made  Commander-in-chief  of  Peking 
and  placed  in  charge  of  its  defences. 

The  Governor  of  Hsiian-hua,  Chu  Chih-feng,  an  Imperial 
clansman,  had  prepared  to  defend  the  city ;  but  the 
eunuch  Tu  Hsiin  and  General  Wang  Ch’eng-yun  sent  him 
word  to  surrender.  Tu  went  in  person  to  call  on  Chu 
Chih-feng  and  advised  him  to  submit,  but  Chu  refused 
to  listen  to  him.  When  the  rebels  appeared,  Tu  Hsiin 
donned  his  Court  robes  and  dragon  jacket  and  went  out 
to  meet  Li  Tzu-ch’eng  ten  miles  beyond  the  city.  The 
garrison  dispersed,  whereupon  Chu  mounted  the  city  wall, 
accompanied  only  by  a  few  retainers.  The  rebels  entered 
the  gates,  which  had  been  opened  by  the  eunuchs.  Li 
had  issued  notices  that  no  one  was  to  be  massacred,  and 
promised  remission  of  taxation  and  corvees,  so  the  people 
were  in  high  spirits.  The  streets  were  decked  with  bunting 
and  festooned  arches  had  been  erected  to  welcome  the 
conquerors.  Incense  was  burnt  as  Li  Tzu-ch’eng  entered. 

General  Chu’s  servants  endeavoured  to  persuade  him 

98 


THE;  t  COURT  OF  PEKING 


to  seek  a  place  of  safety,  but  he  upbraided  them  and 
prostrated  himself  in  the  direction  of  Peking  in  obeisance 
to  the  Emperor.  Then  he  hastily  wrote  out  a  valedictory 
memorial,  in  which  he  implored  His  Majesty  to  stimulate 
his  subjects  to  patriotism  and  loyalty;  after  which  he 
hanged  himself  on  a  beam.  The  rebels  flung  his  corpse 
into  a  ditch,  but  though  the  dogs  devoured  the  other 
dead  bodies,  they  left  his  untouched. 

Six  days  later  Chii  Yen-kuan  was  taken  by  the  rebels, 
and  that  long-guarded  frontier  was  successfully  passed. 
Li  Tzu-ch’eng  had  now  entered  the  plain  north  of  Peking, 
and  was  only  thirty  miles  from  the  capital.  He  proceeded 
to  the  sacred  enclosure  containing  the  ancestral  mausolea, 
plundered  their  contents,  and  set  many  of  the  stately  halls 
on  fire.  His  spies  were  all  over  Peking,  and  many  mer¬ 
chants  and  officials  in  his  pay  sent  him  daily  word  of  the 
Ming  preparations.  Some  of  his  confidential  agents  were 
actually  serving  on  the  Board  of  War,  and  every  decision 
of  the  Throne  was  at  once  communicated  to  him  by 
special  courier.  On  the  other  hand,  the  spies  sent  out 
by  the  Board  of  War  were  captured  by  Li’s  patrols  and 
none  returned  to  Peking.  Thus  Li’s  advance  guard 
reached  the  central  West  Gate  of  the  capital  before  his 
approach  was  even  suspected. 

The  Emperor  summoned  his  Council;  all  were  silent 
and  some  wept.  The  bombardment  began.  Three  regi¬ 
ments  which  had  been  placed  outside  the  gate  fled  at  the 
rebels’  approach,  only  a  few  guards  remained  to  man  the 
walls.  Li  Tzu-ch’eng  moved  to  the  Chang-yi  Gate,  about 
a  mile  and  a  half  further  South,  and  established  his 
quarters  just  outside  the  enceinte.  Here  he  was  attended 
by  the  eunuch  traitor  Tu  Hsiin ;  the  latter  shot  a  message 
in  a  quill  on  to  the  city  wall,  where  it  was  picked  up  by 
the  guard.  It  was  a  letter  to  the  Emperor,  stating  that 
the  rebels  must  win,  and  advising  His  Majesty  to  commit 
suicide.  This  was  handed  to  Ch’ung  Chen,  who  thereupon 

99 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


issued  a  penitential  decree  and  again  decreed  that  all 
extra  taxation  should  cease  forthwith.  He  then  ordered 
his  son-in-law,  Kung  Yung-ku,  to  send  a  body  of  retainers 
with  the  Heir  Apparent  to  Nanking.  Kung  kotowed 
and  said  :  “  It  is  the  rule  that  relations  of  the  Emperor 
should  keep  no  arms  in  their  residence ;  alas  !  I  have 
no  retainers  for  the  mission.”  The  two  men  wept  together. 

The  rebels  scaled  the  wall  of  the  Southern  city  with 
ladders,  and  took  possession  of  the  quarter  inside  the 
Chang-yi  Gate.  Other  detachments  bombarded  the  three 
gates  of  the  Tartar  city.  The  guard  fled,  and  the  eunuchs 
in  command  cravenly  surrendered  to  the  rebels.  At  this 
critical  moment  the  folly  of  trusting  to  these  myrmidons 
was  fully  proved,  and  the  wisdom  justified  of  the  founder 
of  the  dynasty  who  forbade  that  they  should  be  allowed 
to  meddle  in  affairs  of  State.  There  were  between  three 
and  four  thousand  of  them  in  the  Forbidden  City,  osten¬ 
sibly  charged  with  the  duty  of  defending  it  and  the 
Emperor,  but  of  these  one  only,  the  eunuch  Wang  Ch’eng- 
en,  was  faithful  even  unto  death.  The  rest  spent  the  last 
days  before  the  coming  of  the  rebels  either  in  rioting  and 
feasting  or  in  burying  their  treasures  and  making  ready 
for  flight.  On  the  very  day  that  Li  Tzu-ch’eng  captured 
the  first  gate  of  the  outer  city,  one  of  the  Chief  Eunuchs 
was  giving  a  theatrical  entertainment  at  his  residence 
just  outside  the  Ch’ien  Men.  As  for  the  officials,  the 
loyal  and  the  good  were,  for  the  most  part,  so  indignant 
at  the  eunuchs’  supremacy  in  the  counsels  of  the  Emperor, 
and  so  certain  of  disaster,  that  they  prepared  to  perish 
with  the  dynasty,  as  the  Confucian  traditions  prescribe. 
The  licentious  and  ignoble  continued  their  feastings  as 
before. 

On  the  4tli  day  of  the  3rd  Moon,  the  Court  of  As¬ 
tronomers  had  handed  in  a  memorial,  saying  that  the 
Emperor’s  star  was  being  displaced,  and  His  Majesty 
issued  one  of  his  futile  decrees,  calling  upon  his  officials 

100 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


to  repent  them  of  evil.  Yet  lie  took  not  the  brave  and 
loyal  into  his  favour  and  confidence,  the  men  who  later 
died  for  him  at  the  post  of  duty.  The  spirit  of  his  degen¬ 
erate  Court  was  fittingly  displayed  in  the  words  of  a 
couplet  which  some  one  wrote  upon  the  Palace  wall.  “  If 
this  dynasty’s  star  has  waned,  let  us  hitch  our  fortunes 
on  to  its  successor.” 

The  Emperor  now  realised  that  the  position  was  hope¬ 
less,  and  that  it  was  too  late  to  strengthen  the  city’s 
defences.  On  the  17th  of  the  3rd  Moon,  the  rebels  at¬ 
tacked  the  North-West  Gate.  The  Palace  officials  came 
to  report  to  His  Majesty,  who  summoned  all  the  Grand 
Council  to  a  secret  audience  at  the  Terrace  Pavilion. 
The  Emperor  asked  the  advice  of  Wu  Tsao-te,  who  could 
make  no  reply,  but  hung  his  head  in  forlorn  silence.  See¬ 
ing  them  all  helpless,  the  Emperor,  in  a  rage,  flung  his 
dragon  chair  to  the  ground  and  left  the  Pavilion.  He 
went  from  the  Palace  on  to  the  Coal  Hill.  It  was  now 
evening,  and  the  smoke  of  the  rebels’  beacon  fires  was 
visible  on  all  sides  of  the  city.  For  a  long  while  the 
wretched  Monarch  stood  there,  lamenting  his  peoples’ 
sufferings  and  his  own. 

Next  morning,  long  before  dawn,  the  rebels  attacked  the 
Western  Gate  of  the  Southern  city,  and  the  eunuch  Tsao, 
who  was  in  charge,  surrendered  it  to  the  enemy.  The 
rebels  poured  in,  speedily  captured  the  Ch’ien  Men,  and 
advanced  upon  the  Forbidden  City. 

The  Emperor  ordered  that  the  Heir  Apparent  and  his 
younger  brother  be  removed  to  a  place  of  safety.  When 
they  came  to  take  leave  of  their  father  they  were  dressed 
in  their  usual  Court  attire.  Sorrowfully  the  Emperor 
regarded  them  :  44  How  is  it  that  at  a  time  like  this  you 
are  arrayed  in  robes  of  luxury  ?  ”  Then  he  commanded 
a  eunuch  to  bring  two  suits  of  old  and  shabby  clothes, 
and  with  his  own  hands  assisted  his  sons  to  tie  their 
girdles.  44  To-day,”  said  he  to  the  elder,  44  you  are  Heir 

101 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


to  the  Throne;  to-morrow  you  will  be  one  of  the  people, 
homeless,  and  a  wanderer  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  Reveal 
not  your  names  and  dissemble  as  best  you  may.  Address 
your  elders  with  respect  as  “  good  sir,”  and  call  strangers 
“  uncle  ”  or  “  kind  cousin.”  If,  perchance,  your  lives 
should  be  spared,  remember  in  time  to  come  to 
avenge  the  wrongs  which  your  parents  have  suffered. 
Forget  not  these  my  words.”  He  ended,  and  the  lads 
were  led  away. 

He  then  commanded  them  to  bring  wine,  of  which  he 
drank  a  considerable  quantity.  Summoning  his  Empress 
Consort  (who  was  of  the  Chou  family)  and  the  concubines, 
he  addressed  them,  saying  :  “  All  is  over.  It  is  time  for 
you  to  die.”  The  senior  concubine,  Lady  Yuan,  on 
hearing  these  words,  rose  in  terror  from  her  knees  and 
tried  to  escape,  but  His  Majesty  pursued  her  with  a 
sword.  Shouting  :  “  You  too  must  die,”  he  wounded 
her  in  the  shoulder.  She  continued  to  run,  but  the 
Emperor  thrust  at  her  a  second  time,  whereat  she  fell, 
weltering  in  blood.  The  Empress  Consort  fled  to  her 
Palace  of  Feminine  Tranquillity,  and  there  hanged  herself. 

Next,  the  Emperor  summoned  the  Princess  Imperial 
from  the  Palace  of  Peaceful  Old  Age.  She  was  only  just 
fifteen  years  of  age.  Wildly  he  glared  at  her,  saying  : 
“  By  what  evil  fortune  were  you  born  into  our  ill-starred 
house?”  Seizing  his  sword,  he  hacked  off  her  right 
arm,  and  she  sank  dying  to  the  floor.  He  then  went  to 
the  pavilion  of  Charity  Made  Manifest  and  there  killed 
his  second  daughter,  the  Princess  of  Feminine  Propriety. 
Finally,  he  sent  eunuchs  to  greet  in  his  name  the  Empress 
Consort,  and  to  the  senior  concubines  of  his  late  brother, 
Hsi  Tsung,  strongly  advising  both  to  commit  suicide.1 
Entering  the  Palace  of  Feminine  Tranquillity,  he  saw  his 
Consort  hanging  dead  from  the  rafters,  whereat  he  cried 
aloud  :  “  Death  is  best,  the  only  way  for  us  all.” 

1  Vide  supra,  p.  82. 

102 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


It  was  now  nearly  5  a.m.  and  the  dawn  was  breaking. 
The  Emperor  changed  his  apparel  and  removed  his  long 
Imperial  robe.  The  bell  rang  in  the  Palace  for  the 
morning  audience,  but  none  attended.  The  Emperor 
donned  a  short  dragon-embroidered  tunic  and  a  robe  of 
purple  and  yellow,  and  his  left  foot  was  bare.  Accom¬ 
panied  by  the  faithful  eunuch  Wang  Ch’eng-en,  he  left 
the  Palace  by  the  Gate  of  Divine  Military  Prowess,  and 
entered  the  Coal  Hill  enclosure.  Gazing  sorrowfully 
upon  the  city,  he  wrote,  on  the  lapel  of  his  robe,  a 
valedictory  decree  :  “  I,  feeble  and  of  small  virtue,  have 
offended  against  Heaven ;  the  rebels  have  seized  my 
capital  because  my  Ministers  deceived  me.  Ashamed 
to  face  my  ancestors,  I  die.  Removing  my  Imperial  cap 
and  with  my  hair  dishevelled  about  my  face,  I  leave  to 
the  rebels  the  dismemberment  of  my  body.  Let  them 
not  harm  my  people  !  ”  Then  he  strangled  himself  in 
the  pavilion  known  as  the  “  Imperial  Hat  and  Girdle 
Department,”  and  the  faithful  eunuch  did  likewise.1 

Before  the  Emperor  had  committed  suicide,  most  of 
the  concubines  had  fled  from  out  the  Palace.  One  of 
them,  the  Lady  Wei,  on  reaching  the  Imperial  Canal, 
cried  out :  “  All  who  are  not  cowards  will  follow  my 
example,”  and  jumped  in.  Some  two  hundred  women 
of  the  Palace  committed  suicide.  A  certain  handmaiden, 
named  Fei,  jumped  into  a  disused  well  which  was  dry. 
The  rebels  pulled  her  out,  and  seeing  that  she  was  fair 
to  look  upon  tried  to  take  her.  Haughtily  she  said  : 
“  I  am  the  Princess  Imperial.”  Awed  by  her  words  they 
desisted,  and  led  her  to  Li  Tzu-ch’eng.  The  latter  ordered 
the  eunuchs  to  identify  her.  As  they  all  said  that  she 
was  not  the  Princess,  Li  presented  her  to  one  of  his 
captains,  named  Lo.  Fei  had  the  whip  hand  of  him 

1  The  usual  account  that  he  hanged  himself  to  a  tree  is  certainly 
incorrect,  though  until  quite  recently  the  chain  which  he  is  supposed 
to  have  used  was  suspended  there. 

103 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


also,  saying  :  “  Really  and  truly  I  am  of  Imperial  lineage, 
and  too  high  in  rank  to  enter  into  an  illegal  or  temporary 
union  with  you.  Your  Excellency  must  espouse  me  in 
lawful  wedlock.  I  beg  you  to  select  an  auspicious  date 
for  the  ceremony.”  Lo  was  only  too  delighted,  and  set 
wine  before  her,  of  which  he  himself  drank  heartily.  Fei 
waited  until  he  was  completely  intoxicated,  then  took  a 
stiletto  and  stabbed  him  fatally  in  the  throat.  As  he 
lay  dying,  she  cried  out  :  “  I,  a  weak  woman,  have  slain 
a  rebel  leader.  I  am  content.”  With  that  she  cut  her 
throat,  and  when  Li  heard  of  the  deed  he  ordered  that 
she  should  have  honourable  burial. 

Meanwhile,  Li  Tzu-ch’eng  had  entered  the  Palace.  By 
his  order  two  door  panels  were  brought,  and  the  Emperor’s 
body,  with  that  of  his  attendant,  was  carried  to  a  shop 
inside  the  Tung-hua  Gate.  Here  the  remains  were  laid 
for  three  days,  after  which  eunuchs  were  ordered  to 
array  the  Emperor  in  Imperial  robes  and  to  dress  his 
hair,  before  laying  him  in  his  coffin.  The  people  were 
allowed  to  pay  their  respects,  and  many  did  so,  but  few 
of  the  official  class  ventured  to  do  obeisance  to  their  old 
master,  for  fear  of  attracting  Li  Tzu-ch’eng’s  suspicions. 
In  fact,  many  made  a  long  detour  on  their  way  to  the 
Palace  in  order  to  avoid  passing  the  coffin. 

On  the  3rd  of  the  4th  Moon,  the  Emperor  and  his 
Consort  were  temporarily  buried  in  the  grave  of  the  T’ien 
concubine,  but  only  eunuchs  and  peasants  witnessed  the 
burial.  Later,  when  Li  Tzu-ch’eng  had  been  defeated 
and  the  Manchus  had  entered  Peking,  their  Regent,  the 
Prince  Jui,  ordered  the  building  of  an  Imperial  mausoleum 
and  prescribed  three  days  of  general  mourning.  But,  for 
the  present,  the  last  of  the  Ming  Emperors  went  to  his 
eternal  rest  unhonoured.  An  account  of  the  burial 
ceremony  was  subsequently  made  to  the  Manchu  Regent 
by  the  minor  official  who  carried  it  out  under  orders  from 
the  rebel  Prefect  of  Peking,  as  follows  : 

104 


.  (pqpjgpp!i  ■ 


The  Imperial  Pavilion  near  the  Coal  Hill,  where  the  last  Ming  Emperor  hanged  himself. 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


“  On  the  25th  of  the  3rd  Moon  1  I  received  orders  from 
Li  Hsi-chang,  styling  himself  Prefect  of  the  city,  that  we 
were  to  inter  their  late  Majesties  in  the  grave  chamber 
of  the  late  concubine,  the  Lady  T’ien,  and  that  I  was  to 
engage  labourers  to  open  up  the  passage  leading  thereto, 
whose  wages  would  be  paid  out  of  public  funds.  On  the 
1st  day  of  the  4th  Moon  I  therefore  engaged  thirty 
bearers  for  the  Imperial  coffin  and  sixteen  for  that  of 
the  Empress,  and  arranged  for  their  conveyance  to 
Ch’ang  P’ing-chou.  The  preliminary  obsequies  were 
fixed  for  three  days  later,  and  the  actual  interment  took 
place  on  the  5th.  The  departmental  treasury  was  quite 
empty,  and  as  the  Secretary  of  Li  Tzu-ch’eng’s  Board  of 
Ceremonies  (responsible  for  the  due  performance  of  the 
ceremony)  refused  to  provide  any  funds,  I  was  obliged 
to  collect  subscriptions  from  charitable  persons.  Thanks 
to  the  generosity  of  two  worthies,  I  obtained  the  sum  of 
340  tiao.2  So  I  set  to  work  to  open  up  the  grave-tunnel, 
which  was  135  feet  long  by  20  feet  wide  and  35  feet  high. 
We  worked  for  three  days  and  nights,  and  early  on  the 
morning  of  the  fourth  day  we  came  upon  the  stone  gate 
opening  into  a  grave  ante-chamber.  The  workmen  were 
obliged  to  force  the  lock  before  we  could  enter.  Inside 
we  found  a  lofty  hall  containing  sacrificial  vessels  and 
many  ornaments.  In  the  centre  was  a  stone  vessel, 
whereon  stood  enormous  candles  of  walrus  fat.3 

“  Next,  we  opened  the  central  tunnel  gate,  and  found 
ourselves  within  a  much  larger  hall,  in  the  centre  of  which 
stood  a  stone  couch  1  foot  5  inches  high  and  10  feet 
broad.  On  it  lay  the  coffin  of  the  Lady  T’ien,  covered 
with  silk  drapery. 

“  At  3  p.m.,  the  coffins  of  their  Majesties  arrived  at  the 
entrance  to  the  mausoleum,  and  were  sheltered  for  the 

1  That  is,  seven  days  after  the  capture  of  Peking. 

2  At  that  time  about  £6. 

3  The  so-called  “  everlasting  lamps.” 

105 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


night  in  a  temporary  mat-shed  which  I  had  erected. 
We  offered  sacrifice  of  a  bullock,  gold  and  silver  paper, 
grain  and  fruits.  At  the  head  of  the  few  officials  present 
I  proceeded  to  pay  homage  to  our  departed  Sovereign, 
and  we  wept  bitterly  at  the  foot  of  the  Imperial  biers. 

“  Next  day,  the  two  coffins  were  borne  through  the  tunnel 
and  into  the  grave  chamber.  We  placed  them  on  the 
stone  couch,  from  which  we  had  first  removed  the  coffin 
of  Lady  T’ien.  We  then  deposited  the  coffin  of  the 
Empress  on  the  left  of  the  couch,  the  Lady  T’ien’s  remains 
were  replaced  on  the  right,  and  lastly,  His  Majesty’s  coffin 
was  lifted  into  the  central  place.  The  Lady  T’ien’s  death 
had  occurred  at  a  time  of  peace,  and  her  coffin  had  con¬ 
sequently  been  provided  with  the  customary  outer  shell, 
but  there  had  been  no  means  of  preparing  one  in  the 
present  case  for  His  Majesty.  So  I  had  the  shell  of  the 
Lady  T’ien’s  coffin  removed  and  used  to  cover  that  of 
the  Emperor. 

“  The  obsequies  having  ended,  we  refilled  the  tunnel, 
banking  up  the  earth  so  as  to  conceal  the  approach  to 
the  door  leading  into  the  grave  chamber.  On  the  following 
morning,  the  6th,  we  offered  libations  of  wine,  and  I  had 
a  mound  erected  over  the  grave  by  the  peasants  from 
neighbouring  hamlets,  besides  building  a  clay  wall  five 
feet  high  round  the  enclosure.” 

Thus  passed  the  last  Ming  Sovereign  from  the  Dragon 
Throne.  On  the  morning  of  his  death  (the  19th),  just 
before  noon,  Li  Tzu-ch’eng,  mounted  on  a  piebald  horse, 
rode  in  through  the  Gate  of  Obedience  to  Heaven,  attended 
by  his  Grand  Secretary,  the  rebel  Niu  Chin-hsing,  and 
Sung  Ch’i-chiao,  President  of  the  Ministry  of  Civil  Offices. 
The  Chief  Eunuchs  with  a  large  following  had  met  him 
outside  the  city  gate  and  escorted  him  into  the  Palace. 
He  took  his  seat  on  the  Throne  in  the  Hall  of  Imperial 
Supremacy,  and  bade  search  be  made  for  their  Majesties, 
the  news  of  their  death  not  having  yet  reached  him. 

106 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


Some  of  the  eunuchs  brought  forward  the  Heir  Apparent 
and  his  two  brothers,  the  Princes  Yung  and  Ting,  who 
had  been  found  concealed  with  the  family  of  the  Lady 
T’ien.  Li  announced  that  on  the  21st  he  would  hold  a 
Court  reception,  at  which  all  the  highest  Ming  officials 
must  attend;  on  the  20th  he  busied  himself  in  super¬ 
intending  the  provision  of  quarters  for  his  troops. 

At  daybreak  on  the  21st,  the  Imperial  Duke  Chu 
Shun-ch’en  (in  whom  the  late  Emperor  had  placed  his 
trust)  and  the  Grand  Secretaries  Wei  Tsao-te  and  Ch’en 
Yen  led  a  melancholy  procession  of  officials  to  the  space 
in  front  of  the  Throne  Hall.  All  were  wearing  their 
civilian  clothes,  not  daring  to  don  Court  dress.  Li 
Tzu-ch’eng  did  not  condescend  even  to  notice  their 
congratulations.  The  rebels  crowded  round  them  and 
jeered,  some  prodding  them  playfully  in  the  back  with 
swords,  while  others  made  them  kneel,  and  kicked  them 
in  the  neck  or  pulled  off  their  hats.  The  wretched 
officials  dared  not  protest  or  resist,  and  tamely  submitted 
to  these  insults  in  silence.  The  Grand  Secretary  Ch’en 
Yen  then  sought  to  curry  favour  by  inviting  Li  Tzu-ch’eng 
to  ascend  the  Imperial  Throne.1 

Li  proceeded  without  delay  to  establish  his  authority 
and  reorganise  the  Government.  He  gave  to  the  Heir 
Apparent  the  title  of  Prince  Sung,  released  all  officials 
who  had  been  imprisoned  by  the  Mings,  and  promulgated 
a  new  official  system.  He  changed  the  six  Boards  into 
Ministries,  altered  the  constitution  of  the  Censorate,  and 
converted  the  Hanlin  Academy  into  the  “  Institution  of 
Elegant  Literature.”  The  old  name  for  a  Governor  of 
Province  was  restored,  and  the  division  of  the  provincial 
administration  into  prefectures,  departments  and  coun¬ 
ties  was  simplified.  All  the  changes  which  he  made 
revealed  practical  wisdom. 

1  lie  had  assumed  the  Imperial  title  at  Hsi-an,  but  could  not  con¬ 
sider  himself  Emperor  de  jure  until  he  had  been  enthroned  at  Peking. 

107 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


Thereafter  lie  condescended  to  receive  the  Ming  officials. 
Sitting  with  his  face  to  the  South,  and  attended  by  his  two 
Chief  Lieutenants,  he  bade  each  advance  in  answer  to  the 
roll  call.  He  divided  them  into  three  classes;  all  the 
lower  officials  gladly  accepted  their  new  ranks.  In  the 
higher  ranks,  only  Hou  Hsiin  was  permitted  to  retain 
his  former  position  of  Vice-president;  all  the  rest  were 
degraded  one  or  more  steps.  All  alike  knelt  in  anxious 
expectation,  eager  to  receive  employment  from  their  new 
master.  lie  was  now  to  show  them  something  of  his 
quality. 

First,  he  promulgated  a  code  of  regulations  ordering 
that  every  family  in  Peking  should  board  and  lodge  one 
rebel.  There  was  nothing  said  against  looting  and  rape, 
so  that  for  the  next  few  days  the  rebels  indulged  in  a 
carnival  of  slaughter,  and  thousands  of  the  defenceless 
citizens  committed  suicide. 

Next,  he  appointed  ninety- two  of  the  renegade  Ming 
officials  to  serve  under  his  henchman  Sung  Ch’i-chiao,  in 
the  Ministry  of  Civil  Offices.  But  scarcely  had  they 
placed  themselves  at  Sung’s  disposition  than  they  were 
compelled  to  give  effect  to  a  decree  ordering  the  arrest 
and  imprisonment  of  eight  hundred  officials,  including 
members  of  the  late  Imperial  family  and  many  who  had 
tendered  their  submission.  These  unfortunate  wretches 
were  sent  in  batches  to  the  camp  of  Li’s  Commander-in- 
chief,  Liu  Tsung-min,  to  undergo  torture  by  the  squeezing 
board  and  to  be  severely  beaten,  until  they  disclosed  the 
hiding-places  of  their  wealth.  One  of  the  proscribed,  a 
libationer  of  the  Confucian  Academy,  was  lying  on  a  bed 
of  sickness,  but  he  was  bound  in  chains  and  beaten  till 
he  died.  The  squeezing  apparatus  was  then  applied  to 
his  wife  until  her  fingers  were  broken.  She  confessed 
where  their  money  had  been  buried;  7000  taels  were  dug 
up  and  handed  to  Li  Tzu-ch’eng.  He  was  much  impressed 
by  the  largeness  of  the  amount  and  exclaimed  :  “  Fancy 

108 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


a  humble  literary  man  being  so  well-to-do  !  ”  The 
result  of  the  torturing  in  this  case  caused  him  to  issue 
a  decree  ordering  that  all  these  officials  should  be 
tortured.  The  ransoms,  which  he  extracted  from  the 
proscribed,  were  fixed  at  Tls.  100,000  for  a  Grand  Secre¬ 
tary;  Tls.  70,000  for  high  officers  of  the  Household; 
Tls.  50,000  from  Supervising  Censors ;  Tls.  20,000  for 
Hanlin  Doctors,  and  so  on  down  the  scale  to  the  lowest 
mandarins.  Members  of  the  Imperial  family  were 
squeezed  of  the  uttermost  farthing  and  then  put  to  death. 

But  not  all  the  Ministers  and  courtiers  of  the  wretched 
Ch’ung-Chen  were  cowards  and  renegades ;  helpless  though 
they  were  to  serve  or  to  save  him,  there  were  many 
officials  and  scholars,  even  in  those  degenerate  times, 
who  loyally  upheld  the  stoic  tradition  of  the  Confucian 
philosophy,  and  preferred  death  to  dishonour.  Many 
instances  might  be  cited  of  their  splendid  courage  and 
dignity  in  misfortune,  but  we  must  content  ourselves 
with  selecting  two  or  three  of  those  which  chiefly  appeal 
to  the  admiration  of  their  countrymen.1 

On  hearing  of  the  death  of  the  Emperor,  the  Board 
President  Yi  Yuan-lu,  a  native  of  Chekiang,  hastened  to 
the  Palace  in  full  Court  dress  and  wrote  on  a  desk  the 
following  :  “  The  capital  should  be  removed  to  Nanking; 
my  duty  is  to  die.  Do  not  wrap  me  in  grave  clothes; 
let  my  corpse  be  exposed.  Those  who  understand  will 
pity.”  Then,  sitting  with  his  face  to  the  South,  he  strangled 
himself  with  his  girdle.  Thirteen  members  of  his  family 
committed  suicide  on  that  day. 

The  President  of  the  Censorate,  Li  Pang-hua,  ascended 
the  city  wall  with  some  other  Censors,  but  the  eunuchs 

1  It  is  interesting  to  reflect  that  the  Japanese  samurai’s  hara-kiri, 
with  all  its  noble  traditions  of  chivalry,  loyalty,  high  courage,  and 
solemn  ceremonial,  owes  its  origin  to  the  canons  of  the  Chinese  Sages, 
in  whose  philosophy  lies  the  very  soul  of  the  East,  and  which  can  still 
inspire  moral  heroism  in  a  race  generally  unwarlike  and  devoid  of 
loyalty. 


10<J 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


drove  them  back.  Hearing  that  the  outer  city  had 
fallen  he  repaired  to  the  shrine  of  the  Patriots  of  the 
Dynasty,  and  when  the  rebels  had  entered  the  inner  city 
he  bowed  before  the  tablets  of  those  enshrined  in  the 
temple,  saying  :  “In  the  hour  of  my  country’s  disaster 
I  here  commit  suicide,  asking  permission  to  attend  to 
you,  worthy  gentlemen,  at  the  Nine  Springs.”  Then  he 
wrote  out  some  valedictory  verses  and  hanged  himself. 

Ling  Yi-ch’ii,  a  Director  of  the  Court  of  Revision, 
hearing  that  the  Emperor  was  dead,  burst  into  loud 
lamentation  and  dashed  his  head  against  a  pillar.  The 
blood  poured  from  his  wounded  face,  and  a  disciple 
came  to  urge  him  that  his  duty  was  to  live.  Ling  reproved 
the  young  man  :  “  You  ought  to  give  me  the  kind  of 
advice  that  an  honest  man  might  follow.  How  can  you 
wish  me  to  prolong  existence?  ”  He  motioned  to  him 
to  depart ;  then,  gathering  round  him  his  favourite  books, 
he  burnt  them  all,  saying  :  “  You  at  least  shall  not 
be  defiled  by  the  rebels.”  He  dressed  himself  in  his 
Court  robes,  put  on  his  badge  of  office,  wrote  a  last  letter 
to  his  father,  and  committed  suicide. 

The  Director  of  the  Court  of  Sacrificial  Worship,  Wu 
Len-cheng,  was  on  duty  at  the  Hsi-chih  Gate ;  a  party 
of  rebels  advanced  and  sought  admittance,  pretending 
that  they  were  loyal  troops.  The  eunuch  commander 
was  for  opening  the  gate,  but  Wu  refused  to  allow  it. 
He  barricaded  the  enceinte  with  stones  and  earth,  and 
at  night  descended  from  the  wall  with  a  party  of  volun¬ 
teers,  dealing  destruction  in  the  rebel  ranks.  When  the 
city  fell  he  entered  a  shrine  and  wrote  to  his  family, 
bidding  them  use  a  common  black  cloth  to  cover  his 
remains,  and  hanged  himself.  Wu  had  always  advised 
the  Emperor  to  recall  Wu  San-kuei  from  Ning  Yuan, 
as  the  danger  from  the  rebels  was  more  pressing  than 
from  the  Manchus.  When  too  late,  Ch’ung  Chen  regretted 
that  he  had  not  followed  this  good  advice. 

110 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


The  Censor,  Ch’en  Liang-mi,  a  Ningpo  man,  was 
childless,  but  a  concubine  whom  he  had  bought  only 
six  months  before  was  enceinte.  He  called  her  to  him 
and  said  :  “  I  am  about  to  die,  but  you  will  soon  give 
birth  to  a  child;  get  you  to  your  parents’  house.”  The 
concubine,  weeping,  made  answer  :  “If  you  mean  to  die, 
is  it  not  my  bounden  duty  to  join  you  in  death?  At  a 
time  like  this  it  were  better  that  my  child  should  not  be 
born.”  Her  husband  rejoined  :  “  Must  it  be  so?  ”  The 
concubine,  aged  eighteen,  then  hanged  herself,  and  he 
followed  her. 

The  Marquis  Liu  Wen-ping,  a  nephew  of  the  Empress 
Dowager,  had  had  a  last  audience  of  the  Emperor  on  the 
evening  of  the  11th  day  of  the  4th  Moon,  and  he  promised 
the  Emperor  that  he  would  die.  On  leaving  the  Presence, 
he  went  with  a  party  of  retainers  to  the  Hata  Gate  and 
slew  several  rebels.  Thence  he  returned  home  and  found 
that  his  mother,  wife  and  sisters  were  already  dead.  They 
had  hanged  themselves  after  setting  fire  to  the  house; 
the  fire  was  still  raging,  so  that  he  could  not  enter  the 
chamber.  His  uncle,  second  in  command  at  the  Palace, 
returned  at  this  moment  from  his  duties  there,  and  met 
Liu  Wen-ping  in  his  garden.  He  proposed  that  both 
should  throw  themselves  down  the  well,  but  his  nephew 
stopped  him,  saying  :  “  It  is  not  respectful  to  the  Emperor, 
whom  you  will  shortly  meet  in  Hades,  that  you  should 
wear  a  military  uniform.  Put  on  your  civilian  dress.” 
His  uncle  did  so,  and  then,  shouting  :  “  Long  live  His 
Majesty,”  they  died  together. 

Wu  Su,  President  of  the  Board  of  Ceremonies,  was  a 
renegade.  He  accepted  office  under  the  rebels,  and  bade 
his  old  servant  prepare  robes  of  ceremony  that  he  might 
proceed  to  pay  his  congratulations  to  Li  Tzu-ch’eng. 
The  man  replied  :  “  The  Son  of  Heaven  is  dead,  and 
instead  of  hurrying  to  do  obeisance  before  his  bier  you 
would  actually  kneel  before  the  usurper  !  Death  is  a 

111 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


small  thing,  but  loss  of  honour  is  a  great  thing.  Please, 
sir,  reconsider  this  matter.”  With  these  words  he  kotowed 
until  blood  flowed  from  his  temples.  Wu  Su  angrily  bade 
him  begone;  but  again  the  old  servant  answered  and 
said  :  “  Your  Excellency  hankers  now  after  wealth  and 
position.  You  may  disregard  my  words  to-day,  but  the 
time  is  at  hand  when  you  will  regret  it.  This  rebel  Li 
Tzu-ch’eng  is  treacherous  and  greedy.  Your  conduct 
will  displease  Heaven,  and  you  will  be  reviled  of  men. 
Surely  you  have  not  long  to  live.  As  for  me,  I  cannot 
bear  to  see  one  whom  I  have  served  all  these  years 
losing  both  life  and  reputation.”  So  he  killed  himself; 
and  his  words  came  true,  for  Li  made  Wu  Su  hand  over 
all  his  treasure,  which  was  very  large,  and  then  had  him 
beheaded. 

To  return  to  Li  Tzu-ch’eng,  now  undisputed  ruler  of 
Peking.  On  the  28tli  day  of  the  3rd  Moon  the  President 
of  the  Ministry  of  Rites  issued  a  circular  notice,  calling 
on  all  the  officials  and  elders  of  the  people  to  memoralise 
Li  Tzu-ch’eng  and  invite  him  formally  to  ascend  the 
Imperial  Throne.  This  was  done,  and  Li,  graciously 
assenting,  decreed  that  an  auspicious  day  be  appointed  for 
the  great  ceremony.  He  intended  that  the  occasion  should 
be  celebrated  with  all  possible  pomp  and  circumstance. 

But  the  auguries  of  evil  were  not  to  be  gainsaid;  the 
rebel  Emperor’s  star  had  begun  to  decline  from  the 
moment  he  assumed  the  Imperial  title  at  Peking.  The 
magnificent  ceremonies  which  he  had  planned  for  his 
formal  installation  on  the  Dragon  Throne  were  never  to 
take  place,  and  in  a  little  while  he,  the  pursuer  and 
plunderer,  was  to  be  pursued  and  plundered. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  a  few  days  before  the  fall 
of  Peking  the  Emperor  had  sent  an  urgent  summons  to 
General  Wu  San-kuei  (who  was  then  holding  Ning  Yuan, 
the  last  of  the  Ming  strongholds,  against  the  Manchus), 
bidding  him  come  with  all  speed  to  Peking.  Wu  San- 

112 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


kuei  started  at  once,  but  he  had  scarcely  got  beyond  the 
Great  Wall  when  word  was  brought  to  him  of  the  fall  of 
Peking  and  the  death  of  the  Emperor.  His  army  of 
seasoned  veterans  was  evidently  a  weighty  factor  in  the 
situation,  especially  as  his  evacuation  of  Ning  Yuan  had 
left  the  road  open  for  the  Manchus  to  march  upon  Peking. 
Wu  San-kuei’s  father,  General  Wu  Hsiang,  had  gone  over 
to  the  rebels,  and  for  his  own  safety’s  sake  was  most 
anxious  that  his  son  should  tender  his  allegiance  to  Li 
Tzu-ch’eng.  Wu  San-kuei  would  undoubtedly  have  done 
so  but  for  the  matter  of  a  certain  singing-girl,  which 
will  be  dealt  with  hereafter.  For  the  present,  suffice  it 
to  say  that  Li’s  overtures  to  him  proved  fruitless.  He 
halted  his  army  at  Feng-Yun,  near  the  Great  Wall,  and 
while  keeping  up  pourparlers  with  Li,  began  negotiations 
with  Prince  Jui  (Dorgun),  suggesting  a  combination  of 
forces  against  the  rebel  Emperor. 

On  the  29th  of  the  3rd  Moon,  eleven  days  after  the 
fall  of  Peking,  Li  Tzu-ch’eng,  fully  aware  that,  with  the 
Manchus  behind  him,  Wu  San-kuei  would  be  a  formidable 
foe,  sent  him  a  present  of  Tls.  40,000  for  his  troops,  and 
addressed  to  him  the  following  somewhat  tactless  letter  : 

“You  have  been  indeed  favoured  by  fortune  in  rising  to 
so  high  a  position,  since  you  have  never  rendered  any 
pre-eminent  military  service  to  your  Sovereign.  But  as 
the  country  was  threatened  by  powerful  enemies,  the 
only  way  to  keep  you  from  going  over  to  the  other  side 
was  to  shower  rewards  upon  you.  The  principle  is  a 
sound  one,  and  was  originally  enunciated  by  the  philo¬ 
sopher  Kuan  Tzii  as  a  reason  for  bestowing  honours  on 
doubtful  loyalty ;  it  was  also  exemplified  by  the  founder 
of  the  Han  dynasty,  in  his  employment  of  Han  Hsin. 

“  At  present  you  have  a  large  army  under  you,  but  it 
has  only  a  spectacular  value.  If  my  troops  swoop  down 
upon  you,  you  have  neither  the  will  to  repel  their  onset 
nor  the  available  force  to  defeat  them.  This  is  your  last 

113 


i 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


opportunity  to  join  me.  Your  Emperor  is  dead  and  may 
soon  be  followed  to  the  grave  by  your  own  sire.  My 
advice,  therefore,  to  you,  if  you  wish  to  combine  loyalty 
with  filial  duty,  is  to  surrender  to  me  and  gain  the  honours 
which  I  promise  you.  If,  however,  you  persist  in  over¬ 
weening  self-confidence,  your  army  is  not  strong  enough 
for  victory,  and  will  be  destroyed  in  a  single  morning. 
Your  innocent  father  will  be  decapitated,  and  you  will 
have  lost  both  Sovereign  and  father.  The  proverb  says  : 

‘  It’s  only  the  father  who  knows  his  own  son.’  A  pressing 
message.” 

To  this  Wu,  still  temporising  and  with  an  eye  to  the 
future,  replied  by  requesting  that  Li  Tzu-ch’eng  should 
send  him  the  Heir  Apparent,  the  son  of  the  late  Ming  Em¬ 
peror.  Instead  of  so  doing,  Li  sent  two  renegade  Ming 
Generals  with  a  force  of  20,000  men  to  attack  him ;  but 
Wu,  too  wise  to  waste  his  forces  in  this  way,  beat  a 
hurried  retreat,  and  laid  siege  to  the  stronghold  of  Shan 
Hai-kuan,  then  held  by  a  rebel  garrison  of  8,000  men. 
He  took  the  city  after  a  fierce  assault,  whereupon  Li  Tzu- 
ch’eng,  realising  that  his  Throne  could  never  be  secure  with 
this  enemy  on  his  borders,  left  Peking  with  a  force  of  over 
100,000  men  to  attack  him.  How  Wu  San-kuei,  aided  by 
the  Manchus,  defeated  Li,  will  be  told  in  a  later  chapter. 

After  his  defeat,  Li  Tzu-ch’eng  entered  into  a  treaty 
of  alliance  with  Wu  San-kuei  for  the  division  of  the 
Empire,  and  handed  over  to  him  the  person  of  the  Heir 
Apparent.  By  this  Treaty,  Li  was  to  be  Emperor  and 
ruler  of  Shansi,  Shensi  and  all  to  the  West  of  those  provinces. 
He  then  hastened  back  with  the  remnant  of  his  army  to 
Peking.  He  re-entered  the  capital  on  the  26th  day  of 
the  4th  Moon,  and  two  days  later  solemnly  assumed  the 
Imperial  title  in  the  Wu  Yung  Palace  Hall.  He  pro¬ 
claimed  his  Consort  Kao  as  Empress,  and  conferred  upon 
his  ancestors  for  seven  generations  the  posthumous  title 
of  Emperor.  The  ceremony  of  his  enthronement  was 

114 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


shorn  of  the  magnificence  which  he  had  intended;  the 
gold  Imperial  seal  was  not  ready  and  the  coinage  bearing 
his  reign  title  had  not  been  struck.  Nevertheless,  he  had 
his  hour  of  triumph — he  wore  the  Dragon  robe,  and  the 
whole  Court  made  obeisance  before  him,  while  his  accession 
was  reverently  announced  at  the  altars  of  the  Temples 
of  Heaven  and  Earth.  The  chroniclers  aver  that,  while 
he  was  receiving  the  congratulations  of  the  Court,  the 
dragon  woven  on  the  carpet  of  the  Imperial  dais  “  seemed 
to  glare  at  him  angrily.”  No  doubt  but  that  Li  himself 
felt  that  the  auguries  were  unfavourable.  Having  been 
acclaimed  Emperor  and  left  his  name  on  that  high  roll 
of  fame,  he  returned,  with  undiminished  vigour,  to  the 
congenial  role  of  plunderer.  No  sooner  were  the  cere¬ 
monies  at  an  end,  than  he  set  fire  to  the  main  halls  of 
the  Palace  and  to  the  towers  on  the  city  wall.  Then  he 
took  all  the  gold  vessels  of  the  Palace  and  melted  them 
down  into  flat  “  cakes,”  each  weighing  about  a  thousand 
ounces,  suitable  for  transport.  He  loaded  some  ten 
thousand  of  these  “  cakes  ”  on  to  his  transport  mules, 
and  prepared  to  take  the  long  trail  towards  his  new 
Empire  in  the  South. 

Before  leaving,  however,  he  proceeded  to  administer 
retributive  justice  to  the  Palace  eunuchs,  to  the  traitors 
who  had  betrayed  their  Sovereign  and  the  Empire  to 
save  their  purses  and  their  skins.  Collecting  them  all 
together,  he  first  compelled  them  to  give  up  all  their  pearls 
and  valuables;  they  were  then  driven  out  of  the  Palace 
with  cudgels.  Not  one  was  spared;  even  the  eunuch  Tu 
Hsiin,  who  had  advised  the  surrender  of  the  city,  reaped 
the  just  reward  of  his  treachery,  and  was  forced  to  dis¬ 
gorge  all  his  ill-gotten  gains.  After  having  been  stripped 
of  all  portable  valuables,  they  were  led  outside  the  Gate 
of  Perpetual  Peace  and  bidden  to  disclose  where  their 
other  treasure  was  hidden.  Those  who  refused  either 
had  their  legs  cut  off  below  the  knee  or  underwent  the 

115 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


roasting  torture.  In  some  cases  those  who  had  given 
up  all  their  worldly  goods  were  made  to  endure  the 
finger-squeezing  torture,  and  after  that  were  beheaded. 

The  Earl  Li  Kuo-chen,  who  had  been  amongst  the  first 
to  surrender,  had  not  handed  over  enough  plunder  to 
satisfy  Li  Tzu-ch’eng,  so  he  was  tortured  until  both  his 
ankles  were  broken,  after  which  he  was  allowed  to  hang 
himself.  His  wife  was  stripped  stark  naked  by  the 
rebels  and  placed  on  a  horse,  amidst  much  ribaldry. 
The  Grand  Secretary  Chen  Yen  had  also  surrendered,  and 
had  made  his  peace  by  paying  a  toll  of  Tls.  40,000,  but 
Li  thought  he  might  possibly  give  trouble  later  on,  so 
put  him  to  death  before  leaving  Peking,  as  well  as  Lo 
Yang-tsing,  a  Minister  of  the  Household  who  had  paid 
Tls.  30,000. 

With  the  subsequent  fortunes  of  Li  Tzu-ch’eng,  Emperor 
of  a  day,  we  are  not  here  concerned ;  they  are  recorded  in 
many  volumes  of  history.  But  the  time  and  manner  of  his 
death  are  still  invested  with  the  romantic  quality  which 
distinguished  his  eventful  life.  According  to  the  official 
Manchu  historians,  he  met  an  ignoble  end  at  the  hands 
of  peasants  at  T’ung  Ch’eng  in  Hupei,  but  this  story 
would  seem  to  have  originated  in  the  natural  desire  of 
the  country’s  new  rulers  to  have  it  believed  that  he  was 
dead,  if  only  because,  so  long  as  he  remained  alive,  he 
must  continue  to  be  a  cause  of  unrest.  It  is  recorded  that 
a  corpse,  supposed  to  be  his,  was  officially  exhumed  and  de¬ 
capitated,  but  the  truth  seems  to  be  that,  after  the  fitful 
fever  of  his  adventurous  career,  he  ended  his  days  in 
peaceful  seclusion,  not  without  dignity,  as  a  Buddhist 
priest.  There  are,  at  least,  good  grounds  for  this  belief. 

After  the  capture  of  Wu  ch’ang  by  the  Manchus  (1646), 
which  Li  had  held  against  them  for  some  time,  he  appears 
to  have  fled  into  Hunan,  accompanied  by  a  remnant  of 
about  thirty  followers,  and  sought  refuge  at  a  place  called 
Ching  Hua.  Thence  he  retreated  to  Buffalo  Mountain 

116 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


in  the  An  fu  district,  and  there,  bidding  his  retinue  leave 
him,  he  proceeded  alone  to  Mount  Cilia.  Near  the  town 
of  Shih  men  (Stony  Gate)  he  found  a  temple,  in  which 
he  took  refuge,  shaving  his  head  and  donning  the  robes 
of  a  priest.  In  the  priests’  burial  ground  of  that  temple 
there  still  stands  the  dagoba  in  which  Li  is  said  to  be 
buried.  Its  inscription  runs  :  “  The  Buddhist  priest 
whose  religious  designation  was  the  ‘  Jewel 1  of  Heaven’s 
Grace.’  ”  In  front  of  the  tomb  is  a  tablet,  on  which  is 
written  :  “  None  can  tell  the  family  name  or  origin  of 

the  priest  who  lies  buried  here.”  When  Li  first  became  a 
rebel  he  had  styled  himself,  “  By  Heaven’s  grace  leader 
of  righteousness  and  supreme  commander.”  Subsequently 
he  assumed  the  title,  “  Emperor  of  the  Great  Obedient 
Dynasty.” 

In  the  reign  of  K’ang  Hsi  (about  1695)  an  old  priest 
of  this  temple  told  a  scholar  of  Ch’angsha  that  he  remem¬ 
bered  Li’s  arrival  in  1646;  he  had  refused  to  say  from 
whence  he  came,  but  his  accent  was  that  of  a  Shensi 
man.  He  seemed  to  be  well  read  in  the  Buddhist  Works 
on  Ecclesiastical  Discipline.  Some  years  later  he  was 
joined  by  another  priest,  named  Yeh  Fu,  who  had  formerly 
been  his  disciple,  and  who  attended  him  with  the  greatest 
devotion  for  the  rest  of  his  life.  He  died  in  the  Chia  Yin 
year  of  K’ang  Hsi  (1674),  when  about  seventy  years  of 
age,  after  delivering  a  valedictory  message  to  his  disciple 
Yeh  Fu,  in  which  he  described  himself  as  an  Emperor 
who  had  renounced  the  pomps  and  vanities  of  this  world. 
His  picture  was  preserved  in  the  temple,  and  the  priest 
who  told  the  story  produced  it  for  the  scholar’s  inspection. 
There  could  be  no  doubt  that  it  was  the  portrait  of  Li 
Tzu-ch’eng  :  apart  from  the  loss  of  one  eye,  his  high 
forehead  and  sunken  jaw  were  unmistakable.  His  re¬ 
maining  eye  was  large  and  lustrous  (so  that  he  was  often 
called  “  Owl-eyed  ”),  and  his  nose  was  strongly  aquiline. 

1  In  reference  to  the  Imperial  patrimony. 

117 


CHAPTER  IV 
WU  SAN-KUEI 

Chinese  historians,  as  a  rule,  are  given  to  describing 
the  characters  and  deeds  of  their  great  men  with  a  some¬ 
what  crude  and  uncompromising  finality;  they  are  either 
good  or  bad,  strong  or  weak,  and  every  succeeding  genera¬ 
tion  of  scholars  accepts  and  confirms  verdicts  which  were 
often  rendered  in  the  first  instance  upon  insufficient 
or  false  evidence.  Classical  Chinese  history,  on  the 
whole,  is  strangely  indifferent  to  the  changing  moods  and 
motives  of  men;  it  contents  itself  with  recording  results, 
painting  the  picture  of  the  past  without  the  light  and 
shade  of  humanity’s  mutable  purposes  and  irresponsible 
impulses.  And  Chinese  historians,  being  generally  scholars 
anxious  for  official  employment  or  preferment,  are  wont 
to  describe  men  and  events  in  a  manner  conforming  either 
to  constituted  authority  and  the  political  opinions  of 
the  day  or  to  their  own  preconceived  prejudices. 

Thus  it  is,  no  doubt,  that  Wu  San-kuei,  the  Chinese 
General  who  first  broke  the  power  of  Li  Tzu-ch’eng,  and 
finally  drove  him  back,  repeatedly  defeated,  beyond  the 
Yangtsze,  stands  in  history  to-day  as  a  great  soldier,  a 
statesman  and  a  scholar.  Great  soldier  he  certainly 
was  :  for  several  years  his  military  genius  had  held  in 
check  the  Manchus,  and  his  brilliant  defence  of  Ning 
Yuan  had  earned  for  him  the  admiration  of  those  good 
fighting  men.  But  of  his  principles  and  patriotism,  the 
less  said  the  better. 


118 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


After  the  fall  of  Peking  and  the  death  of  the  Emperor 
his  army,1  standing  between  the  forces  of  the  rebel 
Monarch  and  those  of  the  Manchu  invaders,  was  in  a 
position  to  command  the  situation  and  to  determine  the 
destinies  of  China,  in  so  far  as  these  depended  upon  the 
occupancy  of  the  Throne.  It  is  certain  that  if  he  had 
obeyed  his  father’s  wishes  and  given  his  adherence  to 
Li  Tzu-ch’eng,  the  Manchus  would  not  have  been  able  to 
establish  their  rule  upon  th»  ruins  of  the  Ming  dynasty. 
If  Wu  had  observed  the  terms  of  the  treaty  of  alliance 
against  the  Manchus,  which  Li  Tzu-ch’eng  made  with 
him  after  the  latter’s  first  great  defeat  near  Shan  Hai- 
kuan,  the  Mings  might  have  continued  to  rule  at  Peking. 
His  final  decision,  to  throw  in  his  lot  with  the  Manchus 
against  the  rebels  and  violate  his  avowed  allegiance  to 
the  Ming  Heir  Apparent,  was  due,  not  to  love  of  his 
country,  but  to  his  passion  for  a  certain  singing-girl,  of 
whom,  after  the  fall  of  Peking,  Li  Tzu-ch’eng  had  deprived 
him. 

The  following  facts  of  Wu  San-kuei’s  career  at  this 
juncture,  critical  in  determining  the  subsequent  history 
of  China,  are  taken  from  a  diary  written  at  Peking  by 
one  of  the  Palace  eunuchs  named  Wang  Yung-chang, 
who  was  an  eye-witness  of  the  fall  of  Peking  and  a  close 
observer  of  subsequent  events.  In  this  diary  are  tran¬ 
scribed  several  letters  written  by  Wu  San-kuei  to  his 
father,  General  Wu  Hsiang,  who  had  sworn  allegiance  to 
the  usurping  Emperor.  They  prove  beyond  all  doubt  that 
Wu  San-kuei’s  policy  was  originally  influenced  by  personal 
ambition,  for  he  was  quite  ready  to  serve  under  either 
banner;  but  that,  at  the  critical  moment,  his  actions 
were  determined  solely  by  his  desire  to  regain  possession 
of  his  favourite  concubine.  The  Manchus  owed  their 
dynasty,  under  Heaven,  to  the  little  singing-girl  known 

1  The  Manchu  records  state  that  Wu  San-kuei’s  army  at  Ning-Yuan 
consisted  of  130,000  infantry  and  40,000  cavalry. 

119 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


to  contemporary  chroniclers  as  Lady  Ch’en,  the  Round- 
faced  Beauty.1 

Four  days  after  the  fall  of  Peking,  that  is  to  say  on 
the  22nd  of  the  3rd  Moon  (1644),  Wu  San-kuei  wrote  from 
his  camp  at  Feng-Yiin  to  his  father  in  the  Palace  a  letter 
which  the  latter  handed  over  to  Li  Tzu-ch’eng.  In  it  he 
said  :  “  It  is  rumoured  here  that  Peking  has  fallen,  but  of 
this  we  have  no  definite  news.  No  doubt  the  city  is  being 
besieged.  If  you  can  manage  to  escape,  do  not  bring  much 
money  with  you,  but  bury  your  treasure  as  best  you  can. 
Please  tell  my  favourite  mistress,  the  Lady  Ch’en,  that 
I  am  in  good  health,  and  bid  her  keep  up  her  courage.” 

Another  letter  followed,  saying  :  “  I  have  now  received 
definite  news  of  the  fall  of  Peking,  and  propose  to  move 
with  my  forces  to  a  position  outside  Shan  Hai-kuan. 
If  you  cannot  possibly  escape  from  Peking,  try  to  send 
me  a  line  by  special  courier.  If  all  our  women  have  been 
seized  by  Li  Tzu-ch’eng  you  will  be  acting  wisely  in 
surrendering  to  him.  I  am  most  anxious  about  the 
Lady  Ch’en.” 

A  third  letter  is  dated  the  25th  day  of  the  3rd  Moon  : 
“  I  have  your  letter  of  the  20th  and  note  that  you  have 
surrendered  to  the  new  Emperor  (Li  Tzu-ch’eng).  Under 
the  circumstances,  it  was  the  only  thing  to  do,  so  as  to 
save  our  women  from  the  hands  of  the  rebels.  The  truly 
great  man  will  always  frame  his  actions  with  careful 
regard  for  the  exigencies  of  the  moment,  and  trim  his 
sail  to  the  favouring  breeze.  But  your  letter  goes  on 
to  say  that  the  Lady  Ch’en  has  left  Peking  on  horseback 
on  her  way  to  my  camp.  I  have  seen  and  heard  nothing 
of  her.  Oh,  father  !  how  could  you  thus  recklessly  allow 
a  delicate  girl  of  her  age  to  start  out  on  so  perilous  an 
adventure  ?  I  had  moved  my  troops  to  Shan  Hai-kuan, 

1  This  romantic  personage  had  originally  been  a  slave-girl  in  the 
household  of  Earl  Chou  K’uei.  Wu  San-kuei  met  her  there  at  a  wine- 
party,  and  loved  her  at  first  sight. 

120 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


and  was  seriously  thinking  of  submitting  to  Li  Tzu-ch’eng. 
But  this  news  has  greatly  upset  me.” 

A  fourth  letter  is  dated  the  27th  day  of  the  3rd  Moon  : 
“  Yesterday  I  heard  definitely  that  the  rebel  General 
Liu  Tsung-min  has  seized  the  Lady  Ch’en.  Woe  is  me  ! 
I  shall  never  see  her  again  in  this  life.  I  could  never 
have  believed  that  you,  father,  would  have  been  guilty 
of  such  folly.  Yesterday  I  bombarded  Shan  Hai-kuan 
and  caught  the  rebels  unawares.  I  had  planned  to  make 
use  of  some  of  the  Manchu  forces  and  to  march  straight 
on  Peking,  but  hesitated  to  do  so  because  of  the  possible 
consequences  to  the  Lady  Ch’en.  If  she  is  back  again  in 
Peking,  and  the  rebels  ascertain  that  she  is  my  concubine, 
they  will  probably  spare  her  life,  hoping  thereby  to  induce 
me  to  surrender.  But  if  once  I  move  my  troops  they 
will  certainly  kill  her.  Hence,  I  send  you  this  by  special 
courier,  in  order  that  I  may  learn  how  matters  stand.” 

The  fifth,  and  last,  letter  reads  :  “  I  have  your  letter, 
in  which  you  tell  me  that  the  Lady  Ch’en  has  been 
appointed  a  concubine  in  the  Palace,  and  am  glad  to 
hear  that  she  is  being  kindly  treated.  But  you  write  as 
if  you  were  not  very  positive  of  your  facts;  who  is  your 
informant?  You  also  say  that  the  Ming  Heir  Apparent, 
son  of  the  late  Emperor,  is  in  the  Palace;  have  you  seen 
him  or  not?  Now  that  you  have  submitted  to  the  Shun 
dynasty  1  you  should  memorialise  the  new  Emperor  in 
audience  and  tell  him  what  I  say.  All  I  ask  is  that  he 
hand  over  to  me  the  Heir  Apparent  and  Lady  Ch’en. 
Let  him  do  this  and  I  will  loyally  submit  to  his  dynasty 
at  once.” 

This  correspondence  proves  the  absurdity  of  the  gene¬ 
rally  accepted  version  of  the  story,  which  describes  Wu’s 
loyal  indignation  at  Li  Tzu-ch’eng’s  capture  of  Peking 
as  44  making  his  hair  to  stand  on  end,  so  that  his  hat  was 
lifted  from  his  head.” 

1  The  title  chosen  by  Li  Tzu-ch’eng  for  his  new  line. 

121 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


In  demanding  the  person  of  the  Heir  Apparent,  Wu 
San-kuei’s  first  intention,  as  subsequent  events  proved, 
was  to  proclaim  him  Emperor — a  puppet  Monarch — 
for  his  own  purposes.  He  went  so  far  as  to  adopt  for  him 
a  reign  title,  and  dated  his  official  proclamations  and 
despatches  “  the  first  year  of  Yi-IIsing,”  or  “  Manifesta¬ 
tion  of  Righteousness.”  But  he  abandoned  the  plan 
when,  to  his  intense  wrath,  he  heard  that  his  concubine, 
the  “  Round-faced  Beauty,”  had  been  given  to  the 
Heir  Apparent.  This  all-important  fact  is  not 
mentioned  either  in  the  official  records  or  in  private 
memoirs,  but  the  statements  in  Wang  Yung-chang’s 
diary,  the  account  of  an  eye-witness,  are  fully  confirmed 
by  circumstantial  evidence,  and  fit  in  with  all  the  other 
known  facts  of  the  situation.  They  may,  therefore,  be 
accepted  as  true.  Witness  the  following  extract  :  “  On 
the  day  after  the  fall  of  Peking  the  rebels  discovered 
the  Heir  Apparent  concealed  in  the  house  of  the  father 
of  T’ien,  the  Imperial  Concubine.  He  and  his  brother, 
Prince  Ting,  were  handed  over  to  the  rebel  Emperor, 
who  conferred  upon  the  Heir  Apparent  the  title  of  Prince 
Sung  and  on  his  brother  that  of  “  Duke  of  Peaceful 
Abode.”  On  the  6th  of  the  4th  Moon,  Li  Tzu-ch’eng, 
in  truculent  mood,  wrote  to  Wu  San-kuei  as  follows  : 
“  The  Heir  Apparent  is  safely  ensconced  in  the  Palace, 
so  you  may  abandon  all  hope  of  using  him  for  the  further¬ 
ance  of  your  schemes.  We  have  given  him  a  princedom, 
and  we  have  made  over  to  him  your  wife  and  women 
for  him  to  dally  with  as  he  pleases.” 

Three  days  later,  Li  Tzu-ch’eng  issued  a  decree  proclaim¬ 
ing  a  punitive  expedition  against  Wu  San-kuei;  he  left 
Peking  on  the  12th  of  the  4th  Moon  with  an  advance 
force  of  over  100,000  men.  In  his  suite  were  the  Heir 
Apparent,  his  brother,  three  other  Ming  Princes,  Wu 
San-kuei’s  wife  and  two  sisters,  and  a  number  of  Palace 
concubines,  amongst  whom  was  the  “  Round-faced 

122 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


Beauty.”  A  fortnight  later  the  armies  met  at  a  spot 
known  as  the  “  Stony  Valley.”  Li  was  utterly  defeated, 
and  fled  into  Shan  Hai-kuan.  Thence,  hoping  to  come  to 
terms  with  Wu  San-kuei,  he  sent  to  his  camp  the  Heir 
Apparent  and  the  “  Round-faced  Beauty.”  Wu,  still 
uncertain  as  to  the  future,  and  wavering  in  his  allegiance 
to  the  Mings,  agreed  next  day  with  Li  Tzu-ch’eng,  and 
signed  with  him  an  offensive  and  defensive  alliance  against 
the  Manchus.  It  read  :  “  The  Emperor  Yi-Hsing,1  of 
the  great  Ming  dynasty,  hereby  deputes  Wu  San-kuei, 
his  Regent  and  Grand  Secretary,  Prince  Pacificator  of 
the  West,  and  the  General  commanding,  Earl  Tang 
T’ung;  and  the  Emperor  Yung  ch’ang,2  of  the  Great 
Obedient  Dynasty,  deputes  the  President  of  his  War 
Department,  Wang  Tse-yao,  acting  with  Chang  Jo-ch’i,  to 
enter  upon  a  sworn  treaty  of  alliance  at  Shan  Hai-kuan — 
on  this  22nd  day  of  the  4th  Moon  of  the  Chia  Shen  year. 

“  From  the  date  of  this  agreement  each  party  shall 
keep  its  respective  territories,  and  neither  shall  invade 
the  other.  The  Great  Obedient  Dynasty  is  now  in  pos¬ 
session  of  Peking,  but  hereby  agrees  to  evacuate  and 
restore  it  to  the  Great  Ming  Dynasty  on  the  1st  day 
of  the  5th  Moon,  to  belong  to  the  Mings  for  ever.  The 
treasure  and  valuables  seized  at  the  sack  of  Peking  are 
recognised  as  the  property  of  the  Great  Obedient  Dynasty. 
It  shall  be  optional  for  its  inhabitants  to  become  subjects 
of  the  Great  Obedient  Dynasty  or  to  remain  under  the 
Ming  Dynasty.  To  the  Great  Obedient  Dynasty  shall 
belong  the  provinces  of  Shansi  and  Shensi  and  all  to  the 
West  thereof.  If  the  Manchu  troops  invade  China,  both 
parties  to  this  alliance  shall  unite  against  them;  their 
mutual  relations  shall  be  those  of  sympathetic  allies, 
for  weal  or  woe.  Whoso  breaks  this  treaty,  may  Heaven 
and  earth  combine  to  destroy  him.” 

1  The  reign  title  given  to  the  Heir  Apparent  by  Wu  San-kuei. 

2  Li  Tzu-ch’eng’s  reign  title. 


123 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


After  signing  this  treaty,  Li  Tzii-ch’eng  marched  back 
to  Peking,  where  he  arrived  on  the  29th.  He  was  not 
left  long  in  doubt  as  to  the  loyalty  of  his  new  ally,  for 
even  before  he  reached  the  capital,  couriers  brought  him 
two  proclamations  which  Wu  San-kuei  had  issued;  one 
in  his  capacity  of  the  “  Regent  and  Grand  Secretary, 
Prince  Pacificator  of  the  West,”  dated  the  1st  year, 
4th  Moon,  24th  day  of  the  Ming  Emperor  Yi-Hsing, 
the  other  as  “  Prince  of  the  first  rank,  Pacificator  of  the 
West,”  headed  with  the  Manchu  date  of  the  reign  of 
Shun  Chih.  After  reading  the  latter  proclamation,  Li 
exclaimed  :  “  If  I  am  victorious,  this  double-faced  villain 
will  be  on  my  side;  if  the  Manchus  win,  he  will  join  them. 
Having  got  the  Heir  Apparent  and  the  women  Ch’en 
into  his  hands,  he  breaks  without  compunction  our 
solemn  treaty.  Such  a  creature  is  more  brute  than  man.” 

With  that  he  decapitated  Wu’s  father  and  sixteen 
female  members  of  his  family. 

On  the  1st  day  of  the  5th  Moon  a  decree  was  received 
in  the  Palace  from  the  Ming  Heir  Apparent,  that  he 
would  enter  the  city  within  three  days  and  proceed  to 
perform  the  funeral  rites  of  the  late  Emperor  and  his 
Consort.  At  the  end  of  this  decree  he  affixed  the  date 
of  his  own  year  title,  “  Yi  Using,”  proving  that  he  regarded 
himself  as  Emperor  and  trusted  to  the  loyalty  of  Wu 
San-kuei.  Memorials  of  welcome  were  accordingly  pre¬ 
pared,  and  in  due  course  the  news  reached  the  Palace 
that  His  Majesty  had  arrived  at  the  Western  Gate,  so 
Wang  Te-hua  made  ready  the  Imperial  sedan-chair  and 
the  insignia  prescribed  for  an  Imperial  progress  and 
went  forth  to  meet  him  at  the  head  of  a  large  body  of 
officials.  The  eunuchs  were  very  busy  with  preparations 
inside  the  Palace. 

The  foregoing  details  of  Wu  San-kuei’s  career  are  taken 
from  the  diary  of  the  eunuch  Wang  Yung-chang.  At  this 
point  it  ends.  There  are  certain  discrepancies  in  matters 

124 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


of  detail  between  the  narrative  and  other  accounts  of 
the  period,  notably  in  regard  to  the  time  and  place  at 
which  was  signed  the  treaty  of  alliance  for  the  division 
of  the  Empire  and  the  date  at  which  Wu’s  father  was  put 
to  death  by  the  vindictive  Li.  But  the  main  facts  and 
the  documents  quoted  may  be  taken  as  reliable. 

Wu  San-kuei’s  lack  of  filial  piety,  in  putting  his  “  Round- 
faced  Beauty  ”  before  his  father,  has  been  condoned  by 
historians,  who  quote  with  approval  his  own  saying :  “  A 
disloyal  Minister  must  expect  to  have  an  unfilial  son.” 
Wu  San-kuei  himself,  evidently  with  an  eye  to  the  verdict 
of  posterity,  justified  his  action  in  the  last  letter  which 
he  addressed  to  his  undutiful  parent.  The  following 
extract  from  this  document  is  interesting  :  “  Your  unfilial 
son,  San-kuei,  weeps  tears  of  blood  and  offers  his  duty 
at  your  knee,  father  mine.  Since  childhood  I  have  bene¬ 
fited  by  your  teaching,  and  have  striven  night  and  day 
to  perform  my  duty  on  the  field,  in  the  hope  of  repaying 
something  of  my  Emperor’s  favours.  After  the  loss  of 
Ning  Yiian,  the  key  to  Peking,  I  was  determined  to  recover 
it  at  all  costs,  when  to  my  dismay  I  learned  that  the 
capital  itself  had  fallen,  owing  to  the  lack  of  courage 
displayed  by  its  defenders.  You,  father  mine,  were  one 
of  the  military  commanders  and  had  a  large  force  at  your 
disposal.  How  comes  it  that  you  surrendered  so  quickly 
and  failed  to  make  the  stout  resistance  which  duty 
required?  A  mighty  city  like  Peking  should  not  have 
fallen  after  a  single  day’s  siege.  I  have  learned  with 
shame  of  His  Majesty’s  death  and  of  the  massacre  of 
his  subjects.  You,  my  father,  have  enjoyed  a  reputation 
for  loyalty;  if  you  could  not  repel  the  invader,  surely  it 
behoved  you  to  cut  your  throat  at  the  Palace  gates  and 
thus  to  die  for  your  country  ?  Then  I  should  have 
hastened,  in  garb  of  mourning,  to  avenge  your  fate  or 
to  perish  in  the  attempt.  How  now  can  you  bear  to  pro¬ 
long  your  disgraceful  existence  in  the  rebel  ranks  ?  Wang- 

125 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


Ling’s  mother  committed  suicide  rather  than  allow  her 
son  to  surrender  to  Hsiang  Chi.  Chao  Pao  was  the 
cause  of  his  mother’s  death,  because  the  barbarians 
placed  her  in  front  of  their  battle  line  when  he  attacked 
them.  You  used  to  tell  me  of  these  ancient  heroines, 
but  your  own  behaviour  suffers  sadly  in  comparison  with 
that  of  these  noble  women.  You  have  failed  to  act  as 
a  loyal  Minister ;  why  should  I  be  a  filial  son  ?  Hence¬ 
forward  I  disown  you.  Even  though  the  rebels  place  you 
on  the  sacrificial  altar,  so  as  to  make  me  submit,  I  shall 
ignore  your  fate.  Respectful  greetings  from  your  son.” 

From  all  the  evidences  of  contemporary  documents 
and  tradition  there  is  reason  to  believe  that,  for  a  time 
at  least,  Wu  San-kuei  meant  to  support  the  Heir  Apparent 
in  his  claims  to  the  Throne  at  Peking  and,  possibly,  to 
allow  Li  Tzu-ch’eng  to  retain  dominion  over  Shansi  and 
the  West.  According  to  the  generally  accepted  records, 
it  was  from  Yung  P’ing-fu,  after  the  rout  at  Shan  Hai- 
kuan,  that  Li  made  overtures  to  treat  with  Wu  for  the 
division  of  the  Empire  and  sent  him  the  person  of  the 
Heir  Apparent.  It  is  certain  that  at  this  point  Wu 
desisted  from  pursuing  Li’s  beaten  army,  and  issued 
proclamations  announcing  his  intention  to  enter  Peking 
for  the  restoration  of  the  Ming  dynasty  at  an  early  date. 
One  of  these  proclamations,  dated  the  30th  of  the  4th 
Moon,  reached  Peking  on  the  morning  that  Li  Tzu- 
ch’eng  and  his  loot-laden  army  left  the  city.  It  announced 
the  approach  of  the  Heir  Apparent,  and  directed  the 
people  to  wear  mourning  for  His  late  Majesty. 

It  was  at  this  juncture  that  the  Manchus  showed  their 
hand  clearly  and  gave  Wu  San-kuei  no  option  but  to 
throw  in  his  lot  with  them,  abandoning  the  Mings,  or 
to  fight  against  hopeless  odds.  Wu  had  hoped  to  be 
able  to  keep  the  Manchus  busy  with  pourparlers  while 
he  carried  out  his  plans  and  took  stock  of  the  situation 
at  Peking,  but  Prince  Jui,  the  Manchu  Regent,  suspicious 

126 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


of  his  intentions,  hurried  on  from  Shan  Hai-kuan  to  Chin- 
chou.  There,  hearing  of  Wu’s  proclamations,  he  sent 
him  an  urgent  message  forbidding  him  to  enter  Peking 
in  state  and  saying  that  no  Ming  Sovereign  would  be 
acknowledged.  Wu  made  his  choice,  and  the  Ming 
dynasty’s  chances  of  restoration  went  with  it. 

On  the  morning  of  the  3rd  day  of  the  5th  Moon,  the 
Peking  officials  assembled  outside  the  Western  Gate  to 
meet,  as  they  expected,  their  new  Ming  Emperor.  But 
when  the  palanquin  arrived,  its  occupant  was  seen  to  be  the 
Manchu  Regent,  and  Wu  San-kuei  was  with  him.  Their 
entry  was  received  in  dead  silence.  At  the  Tung  Hua 
Gate  of  the  Palace  some  eunuchs  came  forward  with  the 
Imperial  sedan  and  invited  the  Regent  to  enter  it.  For 
some  time  he  demurred,  but  yielding  at  length  proceeded 
in  it  to  the  Palace.  As  the  Court  knelt,  he  said  :  “I 
wish  to  follow  the  precedent  of  Duke  Chou  in  acting  as 
Regent  for  the  infant  Emperor.  I  ought  not  to  ride  in 
the  Imperial  chair.”  He  then  entered  the  Wu-ying  Hall 
and  received  the  Ming  officials,  bidding  them  all  remain 
at  their  former  posts.  A  memorial  was  handed  to  him 
inviting  him  to  ascend  the  Throne,  but  his  Grand  Secre¬ 
tary,  Fan  Wen-ch’eng,  rebuked  the  memorialists,  saying  : 
“We  have  a  young  Emperor  already  who  succeeded  to 
the  Throne  last  year  at  Moukden;  the  Prince  Regent 
cannot  possibly  accede  to  your  proposal.” 

The  politic  Regent,  rightly  judging  that  the  atmo¬ 
sphere  of  Peking  at  this  juncture  might  have  a  bad  effect 
upon  Wu  San-kuei  and  his  army,  sent  him  in  pursuit  of 
Li  Tzu-ch’eng.  Wu,  well  knowing  that  Li’s  forces  were 
staggering  under  the  weight  of  their  accumulated  plunder, 
accepted  the  mission,  which  he  carried  out  with  his  usual 
vigour  and  success.  The  treaty  of  alliance  cast  to  the 
winds,  he  routed  Li  in  several  fierce  engagements,  relieved 
him  of  his  ill-gotten  booty,  and  finally  drove  him  into 
Shansi.  From  the  date  of  his  entry  into  Peking  by  the 

127 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


Regent’s  side,  until  in  1674  he  rebelled  in  his  turn,  he  was 
the  Manchus’  man  and  a  solid  pillar  of  their  State.  They 
rewarded  his  services  with  a  Princedom,  giving  him 
command  over  the  provinces  of  Kuei  chou  and  Yunnan. 

The  correspondence  which  passed  between  Wu  and 
the  Manchu  Regent,  before  their  combined  forces  defeated 
Li  Tzu-ch’eng,  is  not  without  historical  importance,  and 
may  fittingly  be  referred  to  here.  It  was  when  Li  Tzu- 
ch’eng’s  “  punitive  expedition  ”  had  started  from  Peking, 
on  the  12th  of  the  3rd  Moon,  that  Wu  made  up  his  mind 
at  Ning  Yuan  to  seek  an  alliance  with  the  Manchus. 
Accordingly,  he  wrote  to  the  Regent,  who  had  made 
overtures  to  him  some  time  before.  After  referring  to 
the  invasion  of  Peking  by  the  rebel  host  of  “  pilfering 
dogs,”  he  invoked  the  assistance  of  the  Manchus  to 
chastise  the  rebels,  in  the  following  terms  : 

“  The  accumulated  virtues  of  our  dynastic  line  have 
inspired  feelings  of  loyal  love  and  devotion  in  our  people ; 
volunteers  are  flocking  to  our  standard  against  the  foul 
invaders,  and  I,  who  have  received  such  favours  from  the 
Throne,  have  endeavoured  to  raise  an  avenging  host  which 
shall  attain  the  decisive  victory  that  all  men  desire.  But 
I  regret  to  say  that  my  forces  are  insufficient,  and  there¬ 
fore,  weeping  tears  of  blood,  I  implore  your  assistance. 
For  two  centuries  our  States  have  been  allies,  and  now 
that  we  have  met  with  this  catastrophe  surely  it  behoves 
your  dynasty  to  pity  us.  Surely  you  will  never  suffer 
these  bandit  traitors  to  work  their  evil  will  ?  Your  duty 
to  Heaven  requires  you  to  exterminate  these  evil-doers ; 
charity  to  your  fellow  men  must  impel  you  to  rescue  the 
distressed  and  to  save  them  from  utter  ruin ;  generosity 
and  justice  call  upon  you  to  rescue  the  people  from  this 
scourge  of  fire  and  flood;  you  will  gain  real  glory  by 
restoring  a  fallen  State  and  renewing  an  extinct  lineage; 
thus  shall  you  display  the  prestige  of  your  arms  and  gain 
new  territories. 


128 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


“  Your  Highness  is  endowed  with  heroic  qualities, 
and  the  present  offers  a  splendid  opportunity  to  strike 
home.  I  beseech  you  to  pay  heed  to  this  loyal  entreaty 
of  the  orphaned  servant  of  a  ruined  dynasty,  and  to  send 
your  picked  troops  to  invade  China,  placing  them  in  the 
centre  and  right  wing,  whilst  I  march  with  my  forces 
on  the  left  wing.  You  should  move  at  once  on  the  capital, 
expel  the  rebels  from  the  Palace  which  they  profane, 
and  thus  prove  your  magnanimity  to  the  Middle  Empire. 
What  limit  can  there  be  to  the  gratitude  which  it  will 
be  our  bounden  duty  to  display  ?  By  rights  I  should 
address  His  Majesty  directly,  but  being  ignorant  of  the 
correct  etiquette  I  have  not  ventured  lightly  to  intrude 
upon  his  sacred  intelligence  with  my  entreaties.  Will 
Your  Highness  graciously  memorialise  him  in  my  stead  ?  ” 

On  receipt  of  the  above  letter,  the  Regent  Dorgun 
(Prince  Jui)  at  once  sent  Balaikun  to  Chin-chou  to  bring 
up  more  cannon.  He  moved  his  camp  on  to  Tin  Valley, 
and  from  there  sent  the  following  reply  to  Wu  San-kuei  : 

“  We  have  repeatedly  wished  to  make  peace  with  the 
Mings  and  have  sent  letters  offering  to  negotiate,  but 
the  Ming  Sovereign  and  Ministers  did  not  condescend  to 
reply,  being  blind  to  the  ruin  which  threatened  their 
dynasty.  For  this  reason  we  have  twice  approached 
their  capital  with  our  armies,  so  as  to  read  a  useful  lesson 
to  the  Ming  Emperor,  to  induce  him  to  make  peace  with 
our  nation,  and  to  prove  our  good  intentions  to  his  people. 
To-day  the  position  has  completely  changed,  and  our 
present  purpose  is  to  establish  the  fortunes  of  your  State 
and  to  take  your  people  under  our  protection.  The 
tidings  of  the  capture  of  Peking  and  the  lamentable 
death  of  the  Ming  Sovereign  have  caused  my  hair  to  stand 
on  end  with  horror.  Therefore,  I  am  now  leading  an 
avenging  army,  which  is  resolved  to  succeed  or  perish 
in  achieving  the  deliverance  of  your  people.  We  shall 
never  desist  from  our  task  until  the  rebels  are  vanquished. 
k  129 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


Your  letter  has  greatly  gratified  me,  and  I  am  advancing 
to  the  attack  forthwith.  In  refusing  to  live  under  the 
same  sky  with  the  usurper  you  are  fulfilling  the  duty  of 
a  loyal  Minister;  let  not  any  thoughts  of  past  hostility 
between  us  cloud  your  mind  with  doubt  or  suspicion. 
Did  not  the  ruler  of  the  Ch’i  State,  Duke  Hsian,  confer 
high  office  on  his  former  enemy,  Kuan  Chung,  and  thus 
attained  to  supremacy  over  the  feudal  states  ?  If  you 
will  join  our  army  with  your  troops  I  will  bestow  upon 
you  the  rank  of  a  feudal  Prince,  so  that  on  the  one  hand 
you  will  avenge  your  master’s  disgrace,  and  on  the  other 
hand  you  will  assure  your  own  fortunes  and  those  of 
your  posterity  for  all  time.  Honours  and  fortunes  will 
be  lavished  upon  you,  and  your  house  will  stand  for  ever, 
immutable  as  the  hills  and  the  Yellow  River.” 

Dorgun  moved  on  to  Lien  Shan,  and  there  received  a 
further  letter  from  Wu  San-kuei  :  “  I  am  in  receipt  of 
your  letter  and  note  that  your  troops  are  advancing. 
Your  righteous  action  will  bring  you  eternal  fame.  My 
reason  for  assisting  you  is  solely  due  to  my  veneration 
for  His  late  Majesty  Ch’ung  Chen,  and  considerations  of 
personal  aggrandisement  move  me  not  at  all.  In  obedi¬ 
ence  to  your  behests  I  am  occupying  all  strategic  points 
West  of  Shan  Hai-kuan  with  my  picked  men,  hoping  to 
decoy  the  rebels  to  advance.  At  present  they  are  in 
full  force  around  Yung-t’ing,  as  numerous  as  ants.  Of 
a  surety  Heaven  intends  that  they  shall  dig  a  pit  for  their 
own  destruction.  I  am  arranging  that  a  large  portion 
of  my  army  shall  co-operate  with  yours.  Let  Your  High¬ 
ness  dispatch  your  tiger-like  levies  towards  Shan  Hai-kuan, 
that  we  may  attack  the  rebels  in  front  and  rear.  They 
will  fall  into  our  hands,  so  that  Peking  and  all  the  region 
round  about  will  soon  know  the  blessings  of  peace.  One 
word  more  :  an  army  such  as  yours,  inspired  with  the 
loftiest  of  motives,  must  desire  above  all  things  to  win 
the  confidence  of  the  people.  You  should,  therefore,  issue 

130 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


stringent  orders  against  looting,  and  by  so  doing  both 
territory  and  all  which  it  contains  will  be  yours.  The 
Empire  is  won  !  ” 

Next  day  the  Regent  was  within  three  miles  of  Shan 
Hai-kuan.  Li  Tzu-ch’eng’s  force  had  been  reinforced 
and  now  numbered  200,000  men.  With  him  were  the 
Heir  Apparent  of  the  Mings,  his  two  brothers  and  many 
Ming  Princes  of  the  Imperial  family,  as  well  as  Wu 
San-kuei’s  father.  He  sent  a  final  summons  to  Wu  to 
surrender,  but  the  message  was  ignored,  so  Li  advanced 
to  bombard  Shan  Hai-kuan.  Wu  sent  despatch  riders 
to  inform  the  Manchus,  and  Prince  Jui,  the  Regent, 
dispatched  a  force  which  met  and  defeated  the  rebel 
General  at  Yi-pien-shih.  On  the  following  morning,  Wu 
and  his  men  came  out  of  Shan  Hai-kuan  to  welcome  the 
Manchus.  The  Regent  warmly  welcomed  him,  gave  him 
a  ceremonial  reception,  and  proceeded  with  him  to  per¬ 
form  joint  obeisance  to  Heaven.  Wu  then  introduced 
his  officers,  and  the  Regent  bade  him  return  and  order 
his  troops  to  fasten  white  badges  on  their  shoulders, 
so  as  to  avoid  confusion  between  them  and  the  rebels. 
Li  Tzu-ch’eng’s  forces  were  drawn  up  in  line  between 
the  mountains  and  the  sea,  awaiting  the  order  to  attack. 
A  furious  dust  storm  was  raging;  they  could  hardly  see 
a  yard  in  front  of  their  position.  The  Manchu  troops 
were  drawn  up  some  distance  away,  and  received  instruc¬ 
tions  from  the  Regent  to  bide  their  time  and  await  order, 
as  any  premature  movement  might  mean  disaster.  “  If 
every  man  does  his  best,”  said  he,  “  the  Empire  is 
ours.” 

Wu  San-kuei  threw  his  right  wing  against  Li  Tzu- 
ch’eng.  With  a  mighty  shout  they  rushed  at  the  rebel 
lines,  but  their  first  onslaught  was  repulsed.  The  wind 
dropped  and  both  sides  engaged  in  a  furious  melee. 
The  Manchus  supported  the  attack  with  an  irresistible 
charge.  The  rebel  ranks  broke,  and  the  day  ended  in 

131 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


their  complete  rout,  a  scene  of  hopeless  confusion  and 
great  slaughter. 

On  the  following  day  the  inhabitants  of  Shan  Hai-kuan 
shaved  their  heads,  in  obedience  to  a  proclamation  by 
the  Regent.  The  Manchu  Princes  had  hesitated  to 
believe  in  Wu  San-kuei’s  assurances,  but  they  were 
reassured  when  he  appeared  in  their  camp  with  shaven 
head.  The  Regent  thereupon  conferred  upon  him  a 
Princedom  of  the  first  class,  together  with  the  robes  and 
emoluments  of  his  rank.  His  father  received  the  “  happy 
despatch  ”  at  the  hands  of  Li  Tzu-ch’eng  on  the  same  day. 

With  the  next  thirty  years  of  Wu  San-kuei’s  successful 
career,  spent  first  in  breaking  up  the  forces  of  Li  Tzu- 
ch’eng  and  later  in  hunting  down  the  last  fugitive  claimants 
to  the  Throne  of  the  Mings,  we  are  not  at  present  con¬ 
cerned.  When  the  Manchus’  dominion  had  been  definitely 
established  over  the  whole  Empire,  Wu  was  rewarded 
with  a  satrapy,  giving  him  command  over  the  provinces 
of  Kuei-chou  and  Yunnan.  At  his  palace  in  Yiinnan-fu 
he  maintained  Imperial  state.  It  was  built  and  furnished 
in  regal  style,  decorated  with  splendid  halls  and  pavilions. 
He  spent  large  revenues  in  beautifying  the  city,  erecting 
a  pleasure  house  on  an  island  of  the  lake  which  he  called 
“  Beside  the  Crystal  Wave,”  and  planted  a  garden  in  the 
western  suburb  known  as  the  “  Park  of  Peaceful  Pros¬ 
perity,”  in  which  he  kept  his  large  library.  But  his 
prosperity  was  not  destined  to  be  permanently  peaceful. 
In  1674,  incensed  at  the  Emperor  K’ang  Hsi’s  decision 
to  reduce  his  semi-independent  authority,  he,  the  queller 
of  rebellions,  raised  the  standard  of  revolt  against  the 
Manchus,  proclaimed  the  establishment  of  a  new  (Chou) 
dynasty,  and  fought  with  all  his  pristine  vigour  and  success, 
until,  in  October  1678,  a  stroke  of  paralysis  ended  his 
tumultuous  career.  His  proud  spirit,  accustomed  to 
command,  would  not  brook  the  thought  of  exchanging 
his  vassal  state  for  the  position  of  a  subject. 

132 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


Long  before  his  open  declaration  of  revolt,  he  had  been 
planning  to  throw  off  his  allegiance  on  this  far-flung 
frontier  of  the  Empire,  and  would  sit  for  hours  brooding 
over  his  grievances  and  plotting  his  revenge.  He  made 
his  preparations  carefully,  as  was  his  wont,  and  laid  in 
large  stores  of  provisions  and  munitions  of  war.  Whilst 
he  was  thus  engaged,  trouble  occurred  in  his  menage.  A 
younger  brother  of  his  favourite  concubine  had  given  him 
offence,  and  Wu  threatened  to  behead  him.  The  offender 
fled  from  Yunnan,  made  his  way  to  Peking,  and  informed 
the  Emperor  of  Wu’s  treasonable  designs.  K’ang  Hsi, 
who  had  but  recently  taken  over  the  Government  from 
his  Regent  (1667)  refused  to  believe  the  story.  Never¬ 
theless,  he  dispatched  a  secret  messenger  to  Yunnan-fu 
to  ascertain  the  truth.  Wu  had  spies  of  his  own  in  all 
the  inns  of  the  city,  who  reported  to  him  at  once  the 
arrival  of  any  strangers  from  Peking.  He  soon  heard  of 
K’ang  Hsi’s  agent  and  realised  that  the  Emperor  suspected 
him.  Desiring  to  ease  the  Monarch’s  mind,  and  thus  to 
prevent  the  arrival  of  Imperialist  troops  before  his  plans 
were  completed,  he  hastily  restored  on  official  documents 
the  year  title  K’ang  Hsi  (for  which  he  had  substituted 
a  new  dynastic  appellation  of  his  own),  and  hung  outside 
the  gate  of  his  Palace  a  new  pair  of  scrolls,  proclaiming 
his  allegiance  to  the  Manchus  : 

“  How  much  mightier  is  the  Emperor  than  I  !  ” 

“  The  Minister  dreads  lest  his  loyalty  be  doubted.” 

The  envoy  remained  a  month  in  the  city,  but  could  find 
no  proofs  of  Wu’s  intention  to  rebel.  He  copied  the 
scrolls  above  quoted  and  on  returning  to  Peking  handed 
them  to  the  Emperor.  The  latter  laughed  heartily, 
saying  :  “  My  old  servant  is  innocent  of  rebellious  plottings 
and  has  been  the  victim  of  calumny.” 

When  eventually  news  reached  him  that  Wu  had 
actually  rebelled,  K’ang  Hsi,  who  was  at  his  ablutions 

133 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


at  the  time,  was  greatly  enraged,  and  threw  the  ewer 
he  was  using  to  the  ground,  shouting  :  “  How  that  scurvy 
rogue  has  fooled  me  !  ” 

When  the  decree  reached  Yunnan  by  which  K’ang  Hsi 
abolished  the  three  semi-independent  vassaldoms  and  re¬ 
placed  them  by  provincial  administration,  Wu  invited  his 
officials  and  secretaries  to  discuss  the  situation.  They 
proposed  various  schemes,  all  of  which  Wu  rejected.  He 
had  already  made  up  his  mind  to  rebel,  and  would  hear  of 
no  compromise.  One  of  his  staff,  however,  a  Chekiang 
man,  named  Hu,  sat  in  a  corner,  silently  smiling  with  a 
contemptuous  expression,  as  if  he  guessed  what  was  in 
Wu’s  mind.  Next  day,  Wu  invited  all  the  staff  to  a 
banquet  and  selected  Hu  for  special  honour  by  handing 
him  a  cup  of  wine,  in  which  was  a  large  dose  of  poison. 
Hu  died  in  great  agony. 

Wu  San-kuei  had  the  physical  traits  which  the 
Chinese  associate  with  intellectual  greatness — conspicu¬ 
ously  large  and  long  ears  and  a  fierce  aquiline  nose.  He 
went  clean-shaven,  and  the  expression  of  his  face  was 
stern  and  forbidding.  Himself  a  hard  worker,  he  exacted 
industry  from  others,  and  was  a  strict  disciplinarian. 
Men  feared  his  wrath;  luckily  for  those  who  served  him 
there  was  a  danger  signal  on  his  face  that  never  failed, 
for  on  the  bridge  of  his  nose  (which  was  misshapen) 
there  was  a  black  birthmark  which  would  swell  and  turn 
purple  when  an  outburst  of  rage  was  impending.  Also, 
just  before  the  explosion,  he  was  wont  to  give  out  ominous 
snorts,  which  served  to  remind  those  about  him  that 
they  had  engagements  elsewhere. 

As  we  have  shown  in  his  correspondence  with  Prince 
Jui,  Wu  had  a  neat  and  effective  literary  style,  but  scholars 
admire  him  chiefly  for  his  proclamations  and  addresses 
to  his  troops,  in  which  he  displayed  much  originality 
and  power  of  invective.  His  exhortation  to  the  army 
to  exterminate  Li  Tzu-ch’eng  is  one  of  his  masterpieces 

134 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


in  this  style  of  composition.  “  That  puny  hobgoblin,” 
it  runs,  “  that  petty  traitor,  Li  Tzu-ch’eng,  has  befouled 
our  sacred  capital.  The  light  of  the  sun  is  obscured,  and 
his  poisonous  miasma  reeks  to  Heaven.  Wolves  and 
jackals  infest  our  citadel,  dogs  and  swine  squat  in  our 
Palace  halls.  They  have  been  guilty  of  the  death  of 
their  Majesties;  they  have  put  to  the  sword  our  scholars 
and  our  principal  men.  They  have  massacred  our  people 
and  sacked  our  chief  city.  High  Heaven  resounds  with 
the  bitter  plaint  of  our  dynasty’s  illustrious  ancestors. 
The  Halls  of  Hades  bear  witness  to  the  tears  of  blood 
shed  by  our  bravest  and  our  best.  But  Heaven’s  man¬ 
date  to  the  dynasty  is  not  exhausted;  the  memory  of  its 
virtue  still  lives  in  every  heart.  Patriotic  sincerity 
requires  its  restoration,  this  traitor  must  flee  before 
our  loyal  resolution.  Let  volunteers  arise  and  smite 
him,  so  shall  ten  thousand  be  put  to  flight  by  one.  Yet 
a  little  while  and  we  shall  see  China  faithful  to  her  old 
rulers  and  the  house  of  Chu  1  restored  to  power.” 

Like  most  of  his  contemporaries,  Wu  displayed  a 
tendency  (which  the  Emperor  K’ang  Hsi  was  wont  to 
deplore  in  his  elder  statesmen)  to  allow  his  everyday 
actions  and  his  decisions  at  moments  of  crisis  to  be  guided 
by  the  advice  of  fortune-tellers  and  astrologers — “  by 
dreams  and  by  Urim  and  by  prophets.”  This  power 
of  seers  and  soothsayers  has  ever  been  a  very  vital  factor 
in  shaping  the  destinies  of  the  Chinese,  as  it  has  been 
with  all  the  peoples  of  the  Orient,  whose  instincts  and 
traditions  fit  them  to  hear  the  voices  that  Europe  has 
silenced  with  materialism. 

Just  before  raising  his  standard  of  rebellion  against  the 
Manchus  in  1674,  Wu  San-kuei  decided  to  consult  a 
certain  Taoist  priest,  famous  throughout  the  province 
for  his  uncanny  skill  in  foretelling  destiny  by  the  study 
of  physiognomy.  Wu  invited  him  to  attend  at  the  Palace, 

1  Chu  Yiian-chang,  founder  of  the  Ming  dynasty, 

135 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


but  the  priest  refused.  Then  Wu  went,  incognito,  to 
visit  him  and  asked  to  be  shown  the  future.  After 
gazing  at  him  for  a  long  time,  the  priest  said  :  “  Your  face 
is  that  of  a  man  who  will  attain  to  great  power,  but  there 
are  lines  on  your  chin  which  tell  me  that  your  posterity 
will  be  overtaken  by  disaster  and  your  family  become 
extinct.” 

Wu  said  nothing;  but  after  returning  to  the  Palace 
and  brooding  over  this  prophecy  of  evil  he  decided  to 
send  one  of  his  trusty  servants  and  put  the  priest  to  death. 
The  priest,  however,  had  recognised  his  visitor,  and,  being 
a  judge  of  physiognomy,  had  left  the  neighbourhood 
and  was  not  to  be  found. 

In  early  manhood,  as  a  relief  from  the  monotony  of  a 
military  life,  which  consisted  largely  of  long  sieges,  Wu 
San-kuei  became  an  excellent  amateur  actor,  and  at 
one  time  trained  a  company  of  players  and  singers  known 
as  “  The  Swallows,”  who  brought  him  no  little  kudos. 
Chroniclers  relate  the  following  story,  which  throws  a 
pleasing  Kaiser-light  on  this  versatile  genius.  He  was 
travelling  incognito  in  Kiangsu  and  had  reached  the  town 
of  Huai-an.  Happening  upon  the  residence  of  a  wealthy 
merchant,  where  theatricals  were  in  progress,  he  sent  in 
a  card  under  an  assumed  name,  and  was  invited  to  come 
in.  The  performance  was  extremely  poor;  nevertheless, 
both  host  and  guests  applauded  it  loudly.  Wu  sadly 
and  silently  shook  his  head.  Thereat  the  host  indignantly 
jeered  at  him  :  “  How  should  a  rustic  boor  like  yourself 
appreciate  such  acting  as  this?  ”  Wu  replied  :  “  I  don’t 
profess  to  be  an  expert,  but  I  have  been  a  lover  of  the 
play  for  over  a  generation.”  This  reply  only  incensed 
the  merchant  the  more,  but  one  of  the  guests,  seeking  an 
opportunity  to  insult  the  stranger,  invited  Wu  to  give 
them  a  taste  of  his  own  quality.  Wu,  delighted  at  such 
an  opportunity  of  displaying  his  skill,  wasted  no  time 
in  polite  refusals,  and  sang  the  whole  of  a  well-known 

136 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


piece  called  “  A  Journey  Eastward.”  The  audience  were 
struck  speechless  with  wonder  and  admiration.  When  he 
had  finished,  Wu  waited  until  the  musicians  had  ceased 
playing  and  quietly  withdrew.  His  identity  was  never 
suspected,  but  he  himself  always  spoke  of  this  adventure 
as  the  greatest  triumph  of  his  career. 

Wu  San-kuei  was  no  incorruptible  patriot,  but  he  was 
undoubtedly  one  of  the  bravest  men  of  those  stirring 
days,  and  an  extremely  picturesque  figure.  We  shall 
have  occasion  to  refer  to  him  again  in  narrating  the 
final  scene  in  the  history  of  the  last  of  the  Mings,  whom 
Wu  San-kuei  pursued  into  Burmah. 


137 


CHAPTER  V 


THE  MANCHU  DYNASTY  ESTABLISHED 

It  is  not  within  the  scope  of  the  present  work  to  trace 
the  origins  and  ramifications  of  the  Manchu  clans  back 
to  the  prehistoric  period  when  they  made  love  and  war  in 
their  ancestral  homes,  which  lay  between  the  Long  White 
Mountain  and  the  Amur  River.  Their  early  history  en¬ 
gaged  the  scholarly  attention  of  the  Emperor  Ch’ien  Lung, 
who  dealt  with  it  in  several  of  his  voluminous  works;  it 
goes  back  to  the  time  of  the  Sushen  tribe  which,  according 
to  the  annals,  brought  tribute  to  the  Court  of  the  Emperor 
Shun  (2230  b.c.)  in  the  form  of  bows  and  arrows. 

For  the  purposes  of  the  present  narrative,  which  describes 
the  establishment  of  the  Manchu  dynasty  in  China  after 
the  decline  and  fall  of  the  Mings,  it  is  unnecessary  to  go 
further  back  than  the  days  of  Nurhachi  (known  in  history 
as  Tai-tsu,  the  exalted  founder),  born  in  1559,  of  the 
Sukosuhu  Clan  of  the  Manchu  branch  of  the  Nuchens. 
At  an  early  period  in  his  career  Nurhachi’s  father  and 
grandfather  had  been  treacherously  put  to  death  by  the 
Chinese  (Ming)  noble  who  was  warden  of  the  marches. 
Nurhachi,  enraged  at  this  outrage,  collected  his  forces 
and  demanded  reparation  from  the  Mings  and  the  return 
of  the  bodies  for  burial.  The  Mings,  already  in  difficulties, 
agreed  with  their  adversary  quickly,  apologised,  and  sent 
presents  of  horses  and  silk,  besides  conferring  on  Nurhachi 
the  title  of  “  Dragon  and  Tiger  General  ”  and  Warden  of 
the  Marches  of  Chien  Chou.  But  Nurhachi’s  wrath  was 
not  appeased.  He  demanded  the  surrender  of  the  tribes- 

138 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


men  who  had  done  the  deed.  This  was  refused,  and  from 
that  time  forward  all  his  energies  were  concentrated  on 
revenge.  For  years  he  worked,  consolidating  his  forces 
and  organising  the  tribes  to  a  pitch  of  military  efficiency 
hitherto  unknown,  so  that  he  became  a  constant  and 
serious  menace  on  China’s  northern  frontiers.  In  1586 
he  had  become  the  recognised  ruler  of  the  five  Manchu 
tribes,  and  the  Court  of  China  had  agreed  to  pay  him  an 
annual  “  subsidy  ”  of  800  ounces  of  silver  and  fifteen 
dragon  robes,  besides  allowing  him  freedom  of  trade  at 
Fushun  and  other  marts. 

From  1593  to  1597  Nurhachi’s  energies  were  fully 
engaged  in  extending  his  dominion  over  the  Yeho  tribe1 
and  their  allies  from  Mongolia  and  the  Long  White  Moun¬ 
tain  territory.  This  inter-tribal  warfare,  complicated  by 
breaches  of  neutrality  by  the  Mings,  continued  until  1618, 
when  Nurhachi  finally  invaded  the  Yeho  territory,  took 
over  twenty  of  their  strongholds  by  assault,  and  subjugated 
the  entire  country  between  the  mouth  of  the  Amur  and  the 
Tumen  River.  After  this  campaign  he  organised  the 
united  tribes  under  four  banners,  yellow,  red,  blue  and 
white.2  His  armies  were  drilled  and  maintained  under  a 
system  of  rigid  discipline.  In  the  front  of  each  banner 
corps  (7500  men)  were  the  armour-clad  spearmen;  the 
bowmen  were  in  the  rear.  Each  company,  of  300  men, 
carried  two  scaling  ladders  and  twenty  siege  catapults. 
In  storming  a  city  each  company  was  required  to  advance 
as  a  compact  unit;  individual  initiative  was  discouraged 
and  personal  bravery  unrewarded.  The  company  which 
entered  the  city  first  received  rewards  and  promotion. 
In  judging  between  the  claims  of  the  several  companies 
the  Princes  of  the  Blood  were  constituted  a  Court  of 
Appeal,  with  Nurhachi  as  final  arbiter. 

1  Afterwards  famous  as  the  Yehonala  Manchu  Clan.  The  Nalas  were 
another  tribe,  conquered  by  the  Yehos. 

2  The  four  striped  banners  were  created  later. 

139 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


In  1616  Nurhachi  assumed  the  reign  title  of  T’ien  Ming, 
or  “  Heaven  appointed,”  and  the  dynastic  name  of  Manchu. 
Being  then  about  to  deliver  his  last  combined  assault  on 
the  Yeho  tribe,  which  alone  continued  to  deny  his  supre¬ 
macy,  he  sent  an  envoy  to  the  Mings,  demanding  that 
China  should  maintain  strict  neutrality.  This  the  Mings 
refused.  Accordingly,  in  1618,  having  dealt  with  the 
Yehos,  Nurhachi  declared  war  upon  China,  taking  a  solemn 
oath  in  the  presence  of  his  army  that  he  would  exact  full 
reparation  for  the  wrongs  and  indignities  put  upon  him. 
These  he  stated  categorically,  as  follows  : 

1.  The  wanton  murder  of  his  father  and  grandfather; 

2.  Violations  of  treaty  in  crossing  the  frontier  and 

assisting  the  Yeho  tribe; 

3.  Illegal  acts  by  Chinese  subjects,  who  had  crossed  the 

frontier  to  steal  ginseng  and  timber; 

and  several  other  grievances  of  a  similar  nature. 

In  1619  the  Mings  made  a  determined  attempt  to  crush 
the  power  growing  on  their  northern  frontiers,  and  sent 
a  large  army,  with  orders  to  concentrate  at  Moukden,  and 
thence  advance  from  both  sides  on  Hsing  Ching,  Nurhachi’s 
capital.  The  story  of  that  splendid  campaign  is  well  told 
in  the  annals  of  the  dynasty,  but  cannot  be  given  here; 
nor  have  we  space  to  recount  the  desultory  frontier 
warfare  of  the  next  seventeen  years.  It  was  during  these 
years  that  Nurhachi  perfected  his  famous  left  wing  as  an 
invincible  fighting  force,  certainly  the  finest  the  East  had 
seen  for  many  centuries,  hardy  veterans,  war-seasoned,  and 
moving  as  one  man.  Nurhachi  himself  displayed  all  the 
qualities  of  a  great  leader  and  of  a  strategist,  and  became 
the  idol  of  his  troops.  In  the  campaign  of  1619,  with 
forces  numbering  less  than  50,000  men,  he  defeated  and 
scattered  in  rapid  succession  the  four  armies  of  the  Mings, 
which,  with  their  Korean  levies,  numbered  over  400,000. 
He  took  30,000  prisoners  and  much  booty,  and  finally 

140 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


established  his  supremacy,  not  only  over  the  Yeho  tribe, 
but  throughout  the  frontier  lands  previously  held  by 
China.  Here,  then,  were  laid  the  firm  foundations  of  the 
Manchu  power. 

Such  fluctuating  successes  as  fell  to  the  Mings  during 
the  next  few  years  were  ascribed  by  Nurhachi  himself 
partly  to  the  superior  artillery  (foreign  cannon  which 
the  Mings  had  received  from  the  Portuguese  by  the  aid 
of  the  Jesuits  at  their  Court)  and  partly  to  the  principles 
which  the  best  amongst  the  Chinese  Generals  had  imbibed 
from  the  teaching  of  the  Sages.  But  most  of  all  he  attri¬ 
buted  his  own  triumphs  and  the  impending  doom  of  the 
Chinese  dynasty  to  the  eunuch-ridden  Court  and  the 
pernicious  interference  of  its  intriguing  officials  with  its 
Generals  in  the  field.  The  best  of  these  were  under  no 
illusions  as  to  the  cause  of  their  repeated  defeats  and 
persistent  disorganisation;  witness  the  following  pathetic 
defence  offered  before  the  Throne  by  General  Hsiung,  one 
of  the  ablest  and  bravest  commanders  of  the  Ming  forces. 

“  None  of  the  officials  who  surround  Your  Majesty,” 
he  said,  “  has  any  knowledge  of  the  art  of  war.  If  they 
hear  that  the  enemy  is  retreating  or  even  delaying  his 
attack  they  all  proceed  to  clamour  against  me  for  not 
advancing,  whether  I  am  ready  to  do  so  or  not.  If,  then, 
in  obedience  to  the  Throne,  I  reluctantly  engage  the 
enemy  and  am  defeated,  not  one  of  them  recalls  the  fact 
that  the  disaster  is  principally  due  to  his  own  advice. 
When,  again,  after  a  time,  I  have  rallied  and  reorganised 
my  forces,  the  cry  goes  up  at  Court  for  drastic  measures, 
and  they  blame  me  for  procrastination.  I  am  quite  strong 
enough  to  hold  for  Your  Majesty  the  whole  of  the  Liao 
Tung  peninsula,  but  I  am  not  able  to  silence  the  foolish 
and  envious  tongues  of  my  detractors.  No  sooner  do  I 
leave  Your  Majesty’s  presence  and  the  capital,  than  the 
voice  of  calumny  is  raised  against  me.  If  you  do  not 
actually  clog  and  hamper  my  movements  by  appointing 

141 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


some  incompetent  person  to  watch  and  advise  me,  you 
permit  my  plans  to  be  ruined  by  the  interference  of  arm¬ 
chair  critics.” 

Another  brave  and  successful  commander  of  the  Ming 
armies,  General  Sun,  was  even  more  outspoken.  “  Your 
Majesty’s  forces,”  he  observed,  “  have  lately  been  de¬ 
prived  of  their  necessary  training  and  often  of  their  pay. 
Instead  of  leaving  the  command  in  the  hands  of  competent 
military  officers,  you  dispatch  ignorant  civilians  to  train 
the  troops.  In  battle  the  supreme  command  devolves 
upon  some  high  civil  functionary,  supported  by  a  large 
and  quite  useless  staff  of  literary  men.  The  tactics  which 
your  armies  are  to  adopt  in  the  field  are  discussed  at 
supper  by  your  courtiers,  or  decided  by  a  party  of  eunuchs 
in  the  intervals  of  their  debauches.” 

Many  were  the  heart-sick  patriots  and  valiant  soldiers 
on  the  Chinese  side  who  perished,  like  General  Yuan  at  the 
fall  of  Liao  Yang,1  cursing  the  besotted  folly  of  their 
Sovereign  and  the  name  of  the  infamous  Chief  Eunuch, 
Wei  Chung-hsien.  A  Commander-in-chief  like  General 
Hsiung,  who  refused  to  placate  this  notorious  favourite, 
was  foredoomed  to  failure  and  defeat. 

In  April  1625,  Nurhachi,  steadily  advancing  in  strength, 
established  his  capital  at  Moukden,  choosing  that  city 
because,  as  he  said,  “  it  is  a  position  from  which  the  Liao 
river  may  speedily  be  crossed  in  the  event  of  trouble 
arising  on  the  Chinese  frontier;  the  road  to  Korea  lies 
conveniently  near,  and  if  we  wish  to  invade  Mongolia,  it 
is  within  two  days’  march.”  At  this  period  General  Sun 
(above  referred  to)  had  been  given  a  fairly  free  hand  for 
two  or  three  years,  and  had  succeeded  in  recovering  from 
Nurhachi’s  forces  practically  all  China’s  territory  west  of 

1  This  brave  man,  seeing  that  the  city  was  lost,  hanged  himself  in 
the  city  tower,  from  which  he  had  directed  the  defence,  with  his  sword 
buckled  on  and  in  his  hand  the  seal  of  his  office.  The  Censor  Chang 
Ch’iian  and  many  other  officers  followed  his  example. 

142 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


the  Liao.  But  Wei  Chung-hsien,  failing  to  secure  largesse 
from  Sun,  persuaded  the  Emperor  to  supersede  him. 
His  successor,  Kao  Ti,  evacuated  all  the  important 
strategic  points  which  Sun  had  held  beyond  the  Great 
Wall,  and  fell  back  on  Shan  Hai-kuan. 

In  1626,  Nurhachi,  rightly  despising  Kao  Ti,  decided  to 
cross  the  Liao  and  invade  China  and  attack  the  stronghold 
of  Ning  Yuan.  Kao  Ti  was  for  abandoning  the  place, 
but  General  Yuan,  in  command  of  the  garrison,  wrote 
with  his  own  blood  an  oath,  to  which  his  officers  sub¬ 
scribed,  that  they  would  defend  it  to  the  end.  Yuan  did 
deadly  execution  with  his  European  artillery,  and  for  the 
first  time  in  his  forty  years  of  warfare  Nurhachi  was 
repulsed.  He  returned  to  Moukden,  much  chagrined 
and  shaken  by  this  reverse ;  and  on  the  30th  of  September 
this  warrior-monarch  died,  in  the  sixty-eighth  year  of  his 
age,  and  Huang  Taiki,  his  fourth  son,  reigned  in  his  stead. 

Huang  Taiki  reigned  under  the  title  of  T’ien  Tsung 
(“Heaven-obeying”)  and  was  posthumously  canonised  as 
T’ai  Tsung,  “  the  Illustrious  Ancestor.”  A  great  soldier 
and  an  empire  builder  like  his  father,  he  was  also  a  far- 
seeing  statesman.  Looking  forward  with  certainty  to  the 
day  when  his  forces  would  be  able  to  seize  the  Throne  of 
the  degenerate  Mings,  he  perceived  the  political  and  strategic 
necessity  of  establishing  his  dominion  over  Korea  on  his 
eastern,  and  Mongolia  on  his  north-western,  borders,  since 
the  rulers  of  both  countries  were  feudatories  of  China. 
Therefore,  after  the  death  of  his  father,  he  welcomed  the 
overtures  made  by  General  Yuan,  who  sent  priests  to 
Moukden  to  present  condolences  and  incidentally  to  dis¬ 
cuss  the  preliminaries  for  a  treaty  of  peace.  Neither  side 
desired  peace,  but  both  wished  to  gain  time;  T’ai  Tsung 
for  his  conquest  of  Korea,  and  the  Chinese  General  for  the 
rebuilding  of  the  fortresses  at  Chin-chou,  Ta  Ling-ho  and 
other  points  west  of  the  Liao.  The  treaty  negotiations 
were  interesting  but  abortive. 

143 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 

The  Manchu  expedition  to  Korea,  under  Prince  Amin, 
was  completely  successful,  but  the  final  conquest  of  the 
country  was  not  undertaken  at  this  period,  because, 
after  the  conclusion  of  a  treaty  which  fixed  the  frontier 
at  the  Yalu  river,  T’ai  Tsung  ordered  the  army  to  return. 
Hearing  that  General  Yuan  was  making  rapid  progress 
with  the  rebuilding  of  his  fortresses,  he  desired  to  take  the 
field  against  him  in  force.  The  army  from  Korea  returned 
in  triumph  in  May  1627,  and  a  month  later  T’ai  Tsung 
once  more  crossed  the  Liao  river;  but  again  the  garrison 
of  Ning  Yiian,  making  good  use  of  their  cannon,  repelled 
the  invaders.  Once  more,  for  several  years,  the  tide  of 
war  ebbed  and  flowed  over  a  region  which  seems  destined 
ever  to  be  the  cockpit  of  furthest  Asia.  Despairing  of 
taking  the  city  so  long  as  General  Yiian  was  in  command 
of  its  defences,  the  Manchus  planned  and  executed  a 
successful  raid  through  Mongolia  into  Chihli,  when  the 
future  conquerors  of  China  first  set  eyes  upon  the  yellow 
roofs  of  the  Forbidden  City.  T’ai  Tsung  led  his  raiders 
in  force  from  the  North-West  Gate  of  the  capital  round 
to  the  Hunting  Park  on  the  South,  where  he  encamped. 
Here,  coming  up  by  forced  marches  in  response  to  the 
Court’s  urgent  summons,  General  Yiian  found  him;  at 
this  juncture  the  Mings  might  have  recovered  their 
territory  and  their  prestige  had  the  wretched  Ch’ung  Chen 
but  trusted  the  ablest  and  bravest  defender  of  his  Empire. 
T’ai  Tsung  saw  himself  caught  in  a  tight  place,  and,  while 
avoiding  a  decisive  battle,  bethought  him  of  a  stratagem 
which  he  had  learned  from  Chinese  history,  a  ruse  which 
seems  to  have  been  applied  frequently  with  success  to  the 
undoing  of  a  Court  infested  with  cowardly  traitors.  He 
arranged  that  two  of  the  Palace  eunuchs,  who  were 
captives  in  his  camp,  should  overhear  a  conversation 
between  his  Generals  and  himself  in  which  they  spoke  of 
Yuan  as  a  traitor  about  to  come  over  to  the  Manchu 
side.  Next  day  the  eunuchs  were  allowed  to  escape,  and 

144 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


hastened  to  Court  with  their  evil  tidings.  The  scheme 
worked.  Yuan  was  arrested  and  thrown  into  prison,  and 
the  General  appointed  to  his  command  was  routed  by  T’ai 
Tsung  after  a  battle  fought  outside  the  Yung-Ting  Gate 
of  the  city.  After  this  victory,  as  Peking  lay  paralysed 
with  terror  before  the  invaders,  T’ai  Tsung’s  brothers  and 
his  son,  Prince  Su,  begged  him  to  finish  his  work  then  and 
there  by  seizing  the  capital  and  the  Throne  of  the  Mings. 
But  T’ai  Tsung  was  a  far-seeing  and  prudent  ruler.  “  To 
take  the  city  would  be  easy  enough,”  he  replied,  “  but  the 
time  is  not  yet.  Their  outlying  defences  are  still  untaken, 
we  have  established  no  terror  in  the  heart  of  China  proper. 
If  we  took  Peking  to-day  we  should  not  be  strong  enough 
to  hold  it.  It  will  take  some  years  to  dissipate  the 
remaining  forces  of  the  Mings.  No;  let  us  return  to  our 
own  place  and  prepare  for  the  hour  of  destiny,  when  God 
shall  deliver  the  whole  Empire  into  our  hands.”  So  the 
Manchu  army  withdrew,  fighting  several  rearguard  actions 
on  their  homeward  way,  and  returned  to  Moukden.  There 
the  Emperor  gave  serious  attention  to  the  manufacture 
of  cannon  of  the  European  type,  and  engaged  the  services 
of  several  experts  to  manufacture  guns  of  the  kind  which 
the  Red  Barbarians  (Portuguese)  had  supplied  in  large 
numbers  to  the  Mings.  The  first  of  these,  known  as  the 
“  Great  General,”  was  cast  at  Moukden  in  1631. 

In  1633  T’ai  Tsung  took  Port  Arthur  and  the  islands 
off  the  Liao-tung  coast.  In  the  same  year  he  decided  on 
opening  up  a  new  path  of  invasion  into  China  by  the 
subjugation  of  the  Chahar  Mongols.  This  he  did,  and 
henceforward  the  road  to  Peking  lay  open  through  the 
pass  of  Kalgan.  By  this  road  his  cavalry  made  fre¬ 
quent  raids  into  Shansi  and  Chihli,  until  the  name  and 
fame  of  the  Manchus  were  known  beyond  the  Yellow 
River. 

The  subjugation  of  the  Chahar  Mongols  was  followed 
in  1635  by  the  submission  of  all  the  remaining  tribes 
l  145 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


south  of  the  Gobi,  whose  chief  Eje,1  handed  over  to 
T’ai  Tsung  the  great  State-seal  of  China,  which  had 
formerly  been  that  of  the  Mongol  (Yuan)  dynasty 
(1206-1333).  In  commemoration  of  this  great  event, 
the  Prince  of  the  Khorchin  Mongols  came,  at  the  head 
of  all  the  tribes  which  inhabit  the  region  South  of  the 
Gobi  desert,  and  begged  T’ai  Tsung  to  assume  the  Imperial 
title.  From  this  time  forward  the  dynasty  was  established 
under  the  title  of  Ta  Ching  (“  Great  Pure  ”).  In  return 
for  their  allegiance,  the  Manchu  Emperor  conferred  upon 
the  leading  Mongol  Khans  princely  rank  and  dignities 
in  the  Manchu  hierarchy.  Also,  he  appointed  chieftains 
over  their  banners  and  guaranteed  them  annual  sub¬ 
sidies  for  war  service.  Thenceforward  the  Khorchin  and 
other  tribes  intermarried  freely  with  the  Manchus. 

Meanwhile,  Korea,  believing  T’ai  Tsung’s  hands  to  be 
full  with  the  Mongols  and  the  Mings,  refused  to  recognise 
the  new  Empire,  and  treated  its  envoys  with  truculent 
rudeness.  Desiring  to  consolidate  his  Empire  on  its 
eastern  borders  before  proceeding  to  the  conquest  of 
China,  T’ai  Tsung  determined  to  chastise  the  ruler  of  the 
hermit  kingdom.  But  first,  in  order  to  keep  the  attention 
of  the  Mings  engaged  within  their  own  borders,  he  organ¬ 
ised  a  raiding  expedition  into  China,  which  started  in  the 
winter  of  1635.  It  revealed  the  utter  defencelessness  of  the 
Chinese  provinces,  and  created  a  thirst  for  loot  amongst 
the  Manchus  and  their  Mongol  levies  which  was  to  bear 
bitter  fruit  in  days  to  come.  Thirteen  cities  in  Chihli 
were  taken  and  sacked  before  the  raiders,  staggering  under 
their  booty,  returned  to  Manchuria. 

In  January  1637,  the  Mongol  Princes  with  their  levies 
assembled  at  Moukden  to  follow  T’ai  Tsung  in  the  in¬ 
vasion  of  Korea.  The  Emperor  led  his  main  force  in 
person ;  commanding  the  famous  left  wing  was  his  brother 

1  Eje  was  a  direct  descendant  of  Dayeri,  whose  ancestor  was  the  last 
Mongol  Emperor. 


146 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


Dorgun  (Prince  Jui),  while  to  another  brother,  Prince  Yli, 
he  gave  command  of  a  picked  body  of  cavalry  whose  orders 
were  to  make  straight  for  Seoul.  When  this  force  drew 
rein  at  the  gates  of  his  capital  and  demanded  its  surrender, 
the  Korean  King,  an  arrant  coward,  forgot  his  truculence, 
and  sent  a  herald  expressing  his  hope  that  the  invaders 
were  not  tired  after  their  long  journey.  Thereafter  he 
fled  to  a  refuge  in  the  neighbouring  hills,  whence  he  sent 
abject  apologies  to  T’ai  Tsung,  without  avail.  By  the  end 
of  February  T’ai  Tsung  and  his  army  were  encamped 
close  to  Seoul.  The  Emperor  declined  to  discuss  con¬ 
ditions,  and  sternly  bade  the  wretched  King  come  down 
and  present  himself  for  audience  at  the  camp.  Even¬ 
tually,  his  followers  having  dispersed,  he  came  in,  made 
obeisance,  and  handed  over  to  T’ai  Tsung  the  patent  of 
kingship,  which  he  had  received  from  the  Mings.  His 
two  sons  were  taken  as  hostages  to  Moukden,  and  he  was 
permitted  to  retain  the  Throne  as  a  vassal  of  the  Manchu 
Empire,  in  which  condition  the  Kings  of  Korea  remained, 
more  or  less  loyally,  until  1894,  when  the  Manchu  power 
was  challenged  and  upset  by  Japan. 

After  his  return  from  Korea  in  1638,  T’ai  Tsung  sent 
an  army  under  Dorgun  to  make  another  raid  upon  China. 
The  Ming  Throne  was  visibly  tottering;  but  its  forces 
were  gathered  to  resist  the  invasion  and  might  have 
succeeded  had  it  not  been  for  the  intrigues  of  the  Court 

O 

against  General  Lu,  the  Commander-in-chief.  The 
Manchus,  marching  southwards  and  east,  took  city  after 
city,  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Peking  to  Chi-Nan  fu, 
the  capital  of  Shantung,  where  they  got  much  plunder 
and  captured  Prince  Te,  a  cousin  of  the  Ming  Emperor, 
who  was  taken  in  triumph  to  Moukden. 

But  none  of  these  military  operations  were  intended  to 
effect  a  permanent  occupation  of  Chinese  territory,  nor 
could  Peking  itself  be  safely  held  so  long  as  the  Chinese 
armies  continued  to  hold  the  various  fortresses  and  walled 

147 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


cities  along  the  Liao  River.  The  operations  against 
Chinchou,  Sungshan,  Shan  Hai-kuan,  and  Ning  Yuan 
had  been  dragging  on,  amidst  more  or  less  desultory  war¬ 
fare,  for  several  years,  and  still  three  of  China’s  most 
capable  soldiers  (of  whom  one  was  Wu  San-kuei)  con¬ 
tinued  to  hold  their  own.  Early  in  1641,  Prince  Cheng, 
T’ai  Tsung’s  first  cousin,  took  command  of  the  Manchu 
forces  in  this  region  and  put  heart  into  their  attacks. 
By  the  spring  of  1642  only  Ning  Yuan,  defended  by  Wu 
San-kuei,  remained  untaken. 

The  Ming  dynasty  was  now  nearing  the  end  of  its 
resources.  The  military  operations  against  the  Manchus 
were  draining  the  impoverished  treasury  of  more  than 
17,000,000  taels  a  year,  more  than  half  the  military 
purposes’  taxation  of  the  Empire.  Nevertheless,  despite 
the  increasing  urgency  of  the  danger  created  by  Li  Tzu- 
ch’eng’s  rebellion,  the  eunuchs  and  household  officials 
were  all  for  an  aggressive  policy  against  the  Manchus 
and  half-hearted  operations  against  the  rebels.  The  war 
party  at  Peking  had  induced  the  vacillating  Emperor  to  put 
to  death  two  high  officials  who  had  advised  him  to  make 
peace  with  T’ai  Tsung,  and  the  latter’s  despatch  to  Ch’ung 
Chen,  suggesting  friendly  negotiations,  had  been  suppressed. 

Nevertheless,  when  the  situation  at  Shan  Hai-kuan  was 
becoming  desperate,  the  President  of  the  Board  of  War 
in  Peking  succeeded  in  persuading  Ch’ung  Chen  to  sanction 
the  sending  of  emissaries  to  Moukden  with  a  letter  asking 
for  a  cessation  of  hostilities.  But  even  now  the  arrogant 
folly  of  the  intractable  mandarins  ruined  a  wise  policy. 
The  Emperor’s  letter  was  written  in  the  form  of  a  decree, 
and  couched  accordingly  in  haughty  terms.  “  A  Decree 
to  Our  Minister  of  War,  Ch’en  Hsin-chia.  You  inform  Us 
that  a  wish  prevails  in  Moukden  to  put  an  end  to  the 
calamities  of  war.  We  have  hesitated  to  believe  this 
report,  inasmuch  as  Our  provincial  authorities  have  said 
nothing  on  the  subject  to  Us,  but  since  you  assure  Us  of 

148 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


its  absolute  accuracy,  and  guarantee  that  the  Manchus 
are  acting  in  good  faith,  We  feel  that,  so  far  as  We  are 
concerned,  there  need  be  no  difficulty  in  agreeing  thereto, 
animated  as  We  are  by  feelings  of  indulgence  towards  all 
strangers  from  afar.  We  shall  thus  be  acting  in  respectful 
accordance  with  the  merciful  principles  of  the  Almighty, 
and  shall  restore  the  immemorial  relations  of  generous 
condescension  shown  by  Our  ancestors  towards  the 
Manchu  tribes.  We  empower  you  to  dispatch  duly 
qualified  persons  to  notify  Our  wishes  in  the  matter,  and 
you  are  to  report  to  Us  on  receipt  of  definite  information 
in  regard  thereto.” 

On  receipt  of  this  communication  the  Emperor  T’ai 
Tsung  issued  the  following  decree  in  reply  :  “  The  letter 
brought  me  by  your  envoys  is  not  satisfactory  in  form. 
If  it  is  meant  to  be  a  communication  to  Us,  why  does  your 
Sovereign  call  it  a  Decree  to  Ch’en  Hsin-chia  ?  If  it  is 
a  decree  from  your  Sovereign  to  Ch’en  Hsin-chia,  why 
does  he  seal  it  with  the  Imperial  seal  ?  Besides,  the  shape 
of  the  seal  is  oblong  and  not,  as  custom  requires,  square. 
In  a  matter  of  this  kind  it  is  impossible  to  sanction  any 
deviation  from  usage.  It  is  clear  to  me  from  the  shape  of 
the  seal  that  the  letter  is  not  genuine  or,  if  genuine,  that 
it  is  sealed  in  this  way  for  purposes  of  subsequent  repudia¬ 
tion.  The  letter  fails  to  suggest  to  my  mind  any  sincere 
desire  for  peace.  The  sentence,  ‘  Animated  as  we  are  by 
feelings  of  indulgence  towards  strangers  from  afar,’  and 
that  which  ends  with  the  words  ‘  generous  condescen¬ 
sion  .  .  .  towards  the  Manchu  tribes,’  betray  a  spirit 
of  haughty  contempt  for  my  nation  which  contradicts 
the  idea  of  a  desire  for  peace  on  the  part  of  the  Mings. 
Disregarding  these  cunning  evasions,  I  will  now  set  forth 
the  plain  facts  of  the  case  :  Hostilities  were  originally 
commenced  by  my  people  with  extreme  reluctance,  caused 
solely  by  the  unbearable  insults  heaped  upon  us  by  you 
Mings,  and  by  your  flagrant  disregard  of  right  and  wrong. 

149 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 

Whenever  I  have  made  overtures  of  peace  you  have 
flouted  them.  To-day,  it  would  seem,  you  Mings  are 
anxious  for  peace,  but  it  is  impossible  to  be  sure  of  your 
bona  fides.  In  any  case,  desirous  as  I  am  for  peace,  I  am 
not  to  be  coerced  into  making  it.  By  the  abundant  favour 
of  the  Almighty,  I  now  possess  all  the  territory  which 
formerly  belonged  to  the  Chin  Tartars;  the  descendants 
of  the  Yuan  dynasty  and  Korea  have  accepted  my 
suzerainty.  Several  millions  of  Ming  subjects  have  sub¬ 
mitted  to  me;  everywhere  my  arms  have  triumphed. 
In  the  interests  of  the  people  of  both  nations  I  desire 
peace,  but  only  on  a  footing  of  absolute  equality  between 
the  contracting  parties.  There  must  be  no  question  of 
‘  central 5  and  6  outside  ’  nations,  nor  of  great  and  small 
kingdoms.  Trade  shall  be  conducted  on  equal  terms 
between  our  respective  subjects,  and  each  nation  shall 
make  annual  gifts  to  the  other.  In  this  way  great  happi¬ 
ness  may  accrue  both  to  rulers  and  ruled,  and  we  shall 
enjoy  the  blessings  of  peace.  My  dynasty,  in  spite  of  its 
martial  prowess  and  the  prosperity  which  it  enjoys,  longs 
ardently  for  peace,  but  you  Mings  ignore  my  communica¬ 
tions,  and  your  Sovereign,  in  the  fond  belief  that  he  is  the 
Son  of  Heaven,  displays  contemptuous  arrogance  towards 
his  equals,  and  indulges  in  vain  boasting ;  surely  his  desire 
for  peace  can  only  be  skin-deep.  Know  you  that  Heaven 
has  no  favourites;  the  Almighty  giveth  dominion  to  the 
just  and  overwhelmeth  the  evil-doer.  Look  you  now  : 
has  China  been  governed  by  one  and  the  same  dynasty 
from  time  immemorial  ?  Are  you  not  aware  that  none 
has  ever  enjoyed  a  perpetual  mandate  from  on  high? 
But  you  Mings,  Emperor  and  Ministers  together,  reck  not 
of  these  things.  You,  Emperor  and  Ministers,  are  guilty 
of  the  deaths  of  millions  of  your  subjects;  at  your  hands 
have  they  perished,  because  you  have  persisted  in  warring 
against  me.  What  I  now  tell  you  is  the  truth,  and  I  desire 
that  it  be  transmitted  to  your  Emperor.” 

150 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


At  this  juncture  a  Censor,1  Tsu  Ko-fa,  advised  T’ai  Tsung 
to  make  a  proposal  to  the  Mings  for  the  partition  of  the 
Empire,  with  the  Yellow  River  (which  at  that  time 
entered  the  sea  in  Kiangsu)  as  boundary,  on  condition 
that  the  Mings  should  send  annual  tribute  to  the  Manchus. 
T’ai  Tsung  declined  the  suggestion,  and  gave  a  final  audience 
to  the  Ming  representatives,  at  which  he  presented  them 
with  sables  and  silver  ingots,  and  ordered  that  a  banquet 
be  given  in  their  honour.  He  commanded  that  they 
should  be  safely  escorted  over  the  frontier,  and  handed  to 
them  the  following  autograph  letter  for  their  Sovereign, 
which  shows  that  he  was  sincerely  desirous  of  peace  with 
honour. 

“  The  first  cause  of  my  war  against  your  nation  lay  in 
the  unprovoked  murder  of  my  two  ancestors  by  you 
Mings,  but  my  Imperial  father,  while  always  ready  to 
defend  his  frontiers,  was  ever  desirous  of  keeping  the 
peace.  He  would  have  kept  it,  but  that  you  Mings  com¬ 
mitted  acts  of  wanton  violence  and  interfered  in  our 
country’s  affairs.  You  demanded  that  we  should  restore 
the  territory  which  we  had  wrested  from  the  Hata  tribe 
in  battle,  and  you  sent  troops  to  garrison  against  us  strong 
places  in  the  Yeho  region.  You  have  violated  our  terri¬ 
tory,  interfered  with  our  business  of  husbandry,  burned 
our  villages,  and  scattered  their  inhabitants.  For  these 
reasons  my  father  found  it  necessary  to  establish  supre¬ 
macy  over  the  various  tribes,  and  solemnly  declared  to 
Heaven  and  earth  his  purpose  to  make  war  upon  you 
Mings. 

“  Frequently  he  attempted  to  negotiate  with  you,  but 
you  ignored  his  letters.  Thanks  to  the  mistakes  com¬ 
mitted  by  your  predecessor  and  his  Ministers,  matters 
have  now  dragged  on  for  years  without  hope  of  settle- 

1  One  of  the  numerous  Chinese  who  already  then  had  gone  over  to 
the  winning  side,  and  who,  after  the  conquest  became  “  tribute-eating  ” 
bannermen. 


151 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


ment.  I  do  not  blame  Your  Majesty  for  these  things;  I 
am  merely  stating  the  plain  rights  of  the  case. 

“  If  now  I  am  prepared  to  make  peace,  it  is  of  my  own 
free  will,  no  man  coercing  me.  Since  my  accession  to 
the  Throne  Heaven  has  plentifully  blessed  my  endeavours, 
and  all  the  territory  of  the  coast  has  been  won  by  my 
arms.  The  population  of  the  northern  regions  is  nomadic, 
and  not  addicted  to  husbandry.  Their  domestic  animals 
are  the  dog  and  the  deer;  their  occupations,  hunting  and 
fishing.  All  North  Manchuria  has  submitted  to  me;  nay, 
even  the  descendants  of  the  Mongol  Emperors  and  Korea 
have  owned  my  supremacy. 

“  In  response  to  the  request  of  my  Mongol  vassals  and 
of  the  Princes  of  my  family  I  have  announced  to  Heaven 
and  earth  that  We  have  assumed  the  dynastic  title  of 
Ta  Ching,  ‘  Great  Pure,’  and  changed  my  reign  title  to 
that  of  ‘  Consummate  Virtue.’ 

“  We  have  vanquished  your  troops  on  every  occasion 
that  we  have  invaded  your  territory.  There  would  not 
be  the  slightest  difficulty  in  advancing  still  further  and 
in  making  our  occupation  permanent.  At  our  approach 
your  cities  fall;  your  battle  line  breaks  in  disarray. 

“  But,  in  the  interests  of  our  subjects,  my  mind  is  still 
set  on  peace.  Sooner  or  later,  retribution  is  visited  by 
Heaven  on  him  who  lusts  after  conquest,  while  the 
humane  receive  their  just  reward.  If  our  two  States  can 
only  realise  where  true  happiness  lies,  and  establish 
relations  of  cordial  and  confident  friendship,  all  the  ill- 
feeling  of  the  past  may  easily  be  buried  in  oblivion. 
What  cause  is  there  for  either  party  to  arrogate  to  itself 
superiority  over  the  other  ?  The  adage  says  :  ‘To  under¬ 
stand  everything  is  to  forgive,  but  a  lack  of  comprehension 
breeds  hatred.’ 

“  I  am  ready  to  receive  your  embassies  in  audience,  and 
it  behoves  you  to  grant  equal  favours  to  mine.  In  this 
way  peace  between  us  may  be  perpetual.  But  should 

152 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


you  persist  in  asserting  these  exaggerated  ideas  of  your 
own  importance,  and  refuse  to  meet  my  envoys  face  to 
face,  as  if  they  were  unworthy  to  enter  your  sacred 
presence,  it  is  useless  to  hope  for  any  good  understanding 
between  us,  and  nothing  but  disaster  will  accrue  to  your 
State. 

“  Do  you  imagine,  forsooth,  that  your  majestic  dignity 
is  in  any  way  enhanced  by  a  discourteous  refusal  to 
receive  my  envoys  ?  Have  not  our  peoples  always  been 
wont  to  exchange  ambassadorial  visits  on  occasions  of 
ceremony  or  Court  mourning,  to  convey  congratulations 
or  condolences,  and  has  it  not  been  your  custom  to  send 
us  annual  gifts,  10,000  taels  of  gold,  100,000  of  silver,  in 
exchange  for  which  we  have  presented  to  you  1000  lbs. 
of  ginseng  and  1000  sable  skins  ?  In  future,  should  any 
fugitives  from  our  justice,  Manchu,  Mongol,  Chinese  or 
Korean,  escape  into  your  territory,  it  shall  be  your  duty 
to  hand  them  over  to  us ;  we  for  our  part  will  do  the  same 
with  your  fugitives.  Your  boundary  shall  be  the  range 
of  mountains  between  Ning  Yuan  and  Shuang-shu  p’i, 
while  our  frontier  shall  be  Pagoda  Mountain.  Lien  Shan 
Bay  shall  be  neutral  territory,  and  subjects  of  both  nations 
shall  be  permitted  to  trade  there.  Any  one  violating 
these  respective  boundaries  shall  be  punished  with  death. 
Coastal  fishing  shall  be  similarly  confined  within  certain 
boundaries  to  Manchus  and  Chinese  respectively.  If  you 
approve  of  the  above  conditions  and  are  ready  to  make 
peace,  we  can  either  proceed  ourselves  in  person  to  an¬ 
nounce  the  solemn  compact  to  the  Most  High  or  depute 
officials  to  represent  us  and  exchange  the  respective 
treaties.  If  you  refuse  peace  on  these  terms,  pray  send  us 
no  more  envoys,  and  hereafter  whatsoever  misfortunes 
may  befall  your  people  will  be  no  fault  of  mine.  I  now 
hand  this  letter  to  your  emissaries,  and  have  arranged 
for  their  safe  convoy  through  my  territory,  past  my  out¬ 
posts  at  Chinchou,  as  far  as  Lien  Shan.” 

153 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


The  Ming  envoys  knelt  once  and  kotowed  thrice  on 
entering  and  leaving  the  Presence;  they  handed  in  a 
further  decree  from  the  Ming  Emperor  addressed,  like  the 
last,  to  his  Board  of  War,  in  which  the  Monarch  asked  for 
news  of  the  negotiations,  and  gave  the  mission  full  powers 
to  enter  into  a  treaty  at  Moukden,  but  there  was  still  no 
direct  communication  from  Ch’ung  Chen  to  his  brother 
Sovereign. 

Unfortunately  for  the  possible  success  of  this  mission, 
the  Ming  Emperor’s  instructions  to  keep  its  results  strictly 
secret  were  disregarded.  When  the  envoys  returned  to 
Peking  they  handed  in  T’ai  Tsung’s  letter  and  the  other 
documents  to  CITen  Hsin-chia,  the  President  of  the  Board 
of  War,  who  was  proceeding  to  draft  a  favourable  report 
to  the  Throne  when,  through  the  error  (possibly  inten¬ 
tional)  of  a  servant,  copies  of  the  Ming  Emperor’s  decrees 
and  a  full  account  of  the  negotiations  were  published  in 
the  official  Peking  Gazette.  Ch’ung  Chen  had  specially 
enjoined  Ch’en  to  maintain  rigid  secrecy,  and  was,  there¬ 
fore,  exceedingly  wrath  at  these  disclosures.  As  he  had 
expected,  the  Censors  poured  in  violent  memorials  of 
impeachment,  denouncing  Ch’en  as  a  traitor  for  endeavour¬ 
ing  to  make  peace  with  the  Manchus.  Ch’ung  Chen  issued 
a  decree  ordering  Ch’en  to  explain  his  action;  but  the 
Minister  declined  to  accept  any  blame  for  his  conduct, 
and  sent  in  a  memorial  asserting  boldly  that  by  these 
negotiations  he  had  rendered  a  great  service  to  the 
Throne.  Ch’ung  Chen  felt  that  he  had  lost  much  face, 
and  as  usual  recovered  it  by  ordering  the  luckless 
Minister’s  public  decapitation.  So  the  mission  was  a 
failure,  and  the  war  went  on.  Quos  Deus  vult  perdere 
prius  dementat. 

An  interesting  memorial  by  one  of  the  Manchu  Court’s 
Censors  at  this  date  observed,  “  Wu  San-kuei  is  still 
holding  out  at  Ning  Yiian,  but  the  garrison  are  in  piteous 
straits  and  the  city  must  soon  fall.  Wu  is  exceedingly 

154 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


suspicious  of  our  intentions,  it  therefore  behoves  Your 
Majesty  to  capture  him  by  strategy.  Once  Ning  Yuan 
and  Shan  Hai-kuan  have  fallen,  Peking  is  ours.  The 
Court  will  flee  to  Nanking,  and  the  Manchus  will  be  masters 
of  China.” 

Another  Chinese  adherent  of  the  Manchus  memorialised, 
advising  T’ai  Tsung  to  march  on  Peking  through  Mongolia, 
leaving  Shan  Hai-kuan  isolated.  To  this  he  replied  : 
“  The  capture  of  Peking  may  be  likened  to  the  cutting 
down  of  a  great  tree.  First  dig  up  all  the  wide-spreading 
roots  and  the  trunk  will  fall  of  itself.  Each  day  lessens 
the  power  of  the  Mings  and  increases  ours.  Before  long 
Peking  will  fall  like  a  ripe  apple  into  our  lap.” 

The  apple  was  ripening  fast.  T’ai  Tsung,  to  hasten  the 
inevitable  end,  now  dispatched  a  large  army  into  China 
under  his  elder  brother,  Prince  Abtai.  In  an  address  to 
this  force  he  said  :  “We  are  no  lovers  of  prolonged  war, 
but  our  attempts  to  secure  peace  have  been  brought  to 
nought  by  the  purblind  obstinacy  of  the  Mings.  We 
now,  therefore,  command  you  to  invade  China  and  smite 
them  hip  and  thigh.  Take  no  innocent  life,  carry  off  no 
man’s  wife  and  family,  nor  any  wearing  apparel.  Loot 
not  to  excess.  Plunder  no  stores  of  grain  except  when  it 
is  needed  for  your  use.  During  the  last  expedition  to 
Shantung  there  were  instances  of  people  being  beaten  to 
death  in  order  to  make  them  give  up  treasure.  Such 
atrocities  are  a  violation  of  the  humane  principles  by 
which  we  are  inspired.  Bring  back  all  your  captives 
uninjured,  that  they  may  join  our  ranks.”  The  Emperor 
accompanied  the  army  as  far  as  the  suburbs  of  Moukden 
and  then  bade  it  farewell.  In  a  few  parting  words  he 
warned  them  against  the  pride  which  precedes  a  fall,  and 
advised  that  if  they  should  fall  in  with  any  of  the  forces 
of  the  rebels,  then  approaching  Peking,  they  should  en¬ 
deavour  by  soft  words  to  win  them  over  to  the  Manchu 
side. 


155 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


He  handed  to  Abtai  his  seal  of  office.  Three  salvoes 
of  artillery  were  fired,  and  the  army,  in  three  divisions, 
set  forth.  This  was  in  November  1642.  The  expedition 
proved  a  brilliant  success.  The  invaders  broke  through 
the  Great  Wall  near  the  spot  where  now  stand  the  Manchu 
dynasty’s  Eastern  Tombs,1  and  from  Chichou  marched 
southwards.  In  South  Chihli  and  Shantung  they  cap¬ 
tured  eighty-eight  walled  cities,  and  advanced  as  far  as 
Yenchou-fu  in  Southern  Shantung.  In  March  of  the 
following  year  they  re-entered  Chihli.  T’ai  Tsung’s  orders 
about  looting  had  not  been  taken  too  literally,  for  their 
train  of  camels  and  baggage  wagons  extended  over  a 
length  of  near  a  hundred  miles.  To  cut  them  off  from 
Manchuria  a  large  body  of  Ming  troops  had  collected  at 
Tien-chen  under  the  Grand  Secretary  Chou  Yen-ju,  but 
he  feared  to  give  battle,  contenting  himself  with  dispatching 
to  Peking  bombastic  reports  of  a  glorious  victory.  The 
only  engagement  which  took  place  was  at  Shell  Mountain, 
some  thirty  miles  north  of  Peking,  where  the  Mings,  under 
the  Viceroy  of  Chihli  and  Liaotung,  were  badly  defeated. 
At  this  time  the  Mings  had  no  fewer  than  four  Viceroys 
in  command  of  their  territory  surrounding  the  Great  Wall, 
six  Governors,  eight  Generals-in-chief,  not  to  mention  a 
eunuch  Commander-in-chief,  who  tried  to  concentrate  all 
authority  in  his  own  hands  and  tyrannised  over  his 
colleagues.  There  was  thus  no  attempt  at  co-ordination, 
and  Li  Tzu-ch’eng’s  rebels  were  daily  advancing  nearer 
to  Peking. 

In  July  1643,  the  Manchu  armies  returned  to  Moukden, 
where  they  were  cordially  welcomed  by  T’ai  Tsung,  who 
went  to  meet  them  beyond  the  walls.  The  expedition 
had  put  to  death  the  Ming  Prince  Lu  and  five  other  Princes 
of  the  Imperial  family,  as  well  as  a  thousand  of  the 
Imperial  clan.  They  had  taken  possession  of  three 
prefectures,  eighteen  departments  and  sixty-seven  district 

1  Where  K’anghsi,  Ch’ien  Lung  and  Tzu  Hsi  lie  buried. 

156 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


cities,  and  routed  the  enemy  in  thirty-seven  engagements. 
They  had  secured  booty  to  the  amount  of  12,250  ounces 
of  gold,  12,250,277  ounces  of  silver,  4,440  ounces  of  pearls, 
52,234  rolls  of  satin  and  silks,  33,720  suits  of  raiment,  111 
fur  coats,  500  sable  skins,  1,600  deer  horns,  and  had  taken 
369,000  captives,  besides  551,312  beasts  of  burden,  camels 
and  oxen.  One-third  of  this  booty  was  divided  among  the 
officers  and  men ;  immense  quantities  of  private  loot 
were  also  secreted  by  individuals. 

The  Emperor  T’ai  Tsung  sacrificed  at  his  father’s  tomb 
on  the  Buddhist  All  Souls’  Day  (the  15th  of  the  7th  Moon), 
when  the  Mongol  Tushetu  Khan  came  to  present  his 
congratulations  at  the  head  of  his  tribe.  He  then  went 
on  a  hunting  trip,  on  returning  from  which  he  had  to 
undergo  a  long  and  fatiguing  day  of  audiences  in  the 
Moukden  Palace.  At  11  p.m.  on  the  9th  of  the  8th  Moon 
(Sept.  21,  1643)  he  repaired  to  his  bed-chamber,  and 
there,  sitting  bolt  upright  in  his  chair  of  state,  expired 
without  a  word,  doubtless  from  heart  failure.  He  was 
then  in  his  fifty-first  year.  He  had  prepared  no  vale¬ 
dictory  decree  nor  any  instructions  regarding  the  succes¬ 
sion.  By  the  laws  of  the  dynasty  his  eldest  son,  Meng  Ko, 
Prince  Su,  then  in  his  twenty-ninth  year,  should  have 
succeeded  him,  but  this  would  have  thwarted  the  ambi¬ 
tions  of  the  surviving  sons  of  Nurhachi,  especially  those 
of  his  fourteenth  son  Dorgun  (Prince  Jui),  who  had 
designs  on  the  Regency,  since  he  could  not  legally  aspire 
to  the  Throne.  T’ai  Tsung’s  eldest  surviving  brother, 
Taishan  (Prince  Li),  was  crippled  with  rheumatism,  and 
was,  therefore,  incapable  of  advancing  his  claims.  So  T’ai 
Tsung’s  ninth  son,  Fu  Lin,  a  child  of  five  and  a  half  years, 
was  placed  on  the  Throne  by  his  ambitious  uncle,  Prince 
Jui,  who,  secure  in  the  Regency,  could  look  forward  to 
many  years  of  power. 

Although  T’ai  Tsung’s  other  brothers  were  jealous  of 
Dorgun’s  assumption  of  the  Regency,  his  claims  as  a 

157 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


military  leader  were  indisputable,  and  their  assertion  was 
justified  by  the  approval  of  the  bannermen.  The  young 
Emperor  was  a  child  of  splendid  physique;  he  had  de¬ 
lighted  his  father  by  his  promise  of  athletic  prowess,  and 
had  accompanied  him  on  the  hunting  expedition  of  the 
previous  spring.  His  mother,  a  Mongol  Princess  of  the 
Khorchin  tribe,  was  a  very  remarkable  woman,  and 
exercised  great  influence  over  her  son,  and  later  in  life 
over  her  grandson,  K’ang  Hsi.  It  was  thought  strange 
at  the  time  that  she  acquiesced  so  readily  in  Dorgun’s 
usurpation  of  power  during  the  Emperor’s  minority,  but 
she  decided,  no  doubt,  that  the  consolidation  and  ex¬ 
tension  of  the  Empire  were  more  important  than  any 
internal  or  domestic  questions. 

The  new  reign  opened  auspiciously  :  the  King  of  Korea 
sent  a  mission  with  tribute,  and  received  in  reply  a  graci¬ 
ously  condescending  message.  Prince  Cheng,  Co-Regent 
with  Dorgun,  was  dispatched  from  Moukden  to  attack 
the  Ming  stronghold  at  Chung  Hou-so.  He  took  with 
him  a  large  number  of  European  guns  which  had  been 
captured  from  the  Mings.  The  city  was  bombarded 
and  taken  by  assault,  some  4,000  men  being  killed 
and  as  many  captured.  The  Manchus  now  held  every 
important  point,  except  Ning  Yuan,  outside  the  Great 
Wall.  The  expedition  returned  into  winter  quarters  at 
Moukden,  and  spent  that  season  in  casting  a  number  of 
guns  for  the  next  campaign  in  China. 

By  the  spring  of  1644  all  was  ready  for  the  final  over¬ 
throw  of  the  Mings ;  Prince  Jui  appointed  himself  General¬ 
issimo  of  the  army,  and  no  doubt  cherished  ambitions  of 
eventually  securing  the  Throne  after  the  fall  of  Peking. 
Suddenly  news  reached  Moukden  that  Wu  San-kuei  had 
evacuated  Ning  Yuan,  which  had  so  long  defied  all 
attacks,  and  that  his  force  was  retreating  towards  the 
capital.  The  Manchus  were  unaware  that  Li  Tzu-ch’eng 
and  his  rebel  hordes  were  already  at  Peking,  and  that  the 

158 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


dynasty  had  collapsed.  The  Regent  was  urged  to  march 
without  delay  upon  the  capital  and  to  effect  its  permanent 
occupation.  His  Grand  Secretary,  Fan  Wen-ch’eng, 
pointed  out  that  the  Manchus  had  frequently  overrun 
Chihli;  thrice  already  they  had  put  to  the  sword  the 
inhabitants  of  Yung-ping,  and  had  evacuated  Tsun-hua 
after  holding  it  for  several  months.  Such  tactics  created 
an  impression  that  they  were  merely  raiders  and  marauders 
of  the  marches.  They  should  now  establish  strict  discip¬ 
line  and  forbid  all  looting;  the  Ming  officials  should  be 
retained  in  their  posts,  so  as  to  mark  clearly  the  difference 
between  Manchu  rule  and  the  brigandage  of  Li  Tzu-ch’eng. 
The  rebels  would  assuredly  consolidate  their  power  unless 
the  Manchus  struck  promptly.  If  they  could  but  secure 
the  region  north  of  the  Yellow  River,  all  China  must  be 
theirs,  sooner  or  later.  Before  the  army  left,  a  solemn 
sacrifice  was  offered  to  the  manes  of  Nurhachi  and  his  son ; 
thereafter  the  boy  Emperor  himself  presented  Dorgun 
with  the  seal  and  patent  of  his  office.  The  edict  issued 
on  this  occasion  declared,  in  the  best  classical  manner, 
that  while  Korea  and  Mongolia  had  acknowledged  his 
dynasty’s  sovereignty,  the  Chinese  still  remained  stubborn. 
His  Majesty,  unfortunately,  was  too  young  to  lead  his 
armies  in  person  and  had,  therefore,  entrusted  this  duty  to 
his  uncle,  on  whom  he  now  bestowed  a  canopy  of  Imperial 
yellow,  two  dragon  banners,  a  cap  of  fox-skin,  sable  robes, 
a  sable  rug  and  dragon  robes.  The  Throne — which  meant 
the  power  of  the  pens  behind  it — retained  its  prerogatives 
as  regards  directing  the  conduct  of  the  campaign.  The 
edict  concluded  :  “  Let  there  be  complete  harmony 

among  you,  so  that  success  may  be  achieved,  and  the 
august  Shades  of  the  mighty  dead  be  comforted.  Be 
reverent.” 

Prince  Jui  bowed  the  knee  thrice  and  kotowed  nine 
times.  His  army,  which  was  to  establish  the  Manchu 
rulers  upon  the  Dragon  Throne,  comprised  two-thirds  of 

159 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


the  Manchu  and  Mongol  banners ;  1  and  all  the  Chinese 
(Hanchiin)  levies.  The  other  third  of  the  Manchus  and 
Mongols  remained  to  guard  the  young  Emperor  and  his 
capital. 

The  rest  of  the  story  has  already  been  told.  As  soon 
as  Wu  San-kuei  had  been  dispatched  by  the  Regent  to 
occupy  and  exhaust  his  formidable  army  in  the  congenial 
task  of  pursuing  the  booty-laden  rebels,  the  Regent  settled 
down  to  consolidate  the  Manchu  power  against  all  possible 
attacks,  and  to  re-organise  the  Government  upon  just  and 
liberal  principles.  With  the  courage  of  a  great  soldier 
and  the  skill  of  a  great  statesman  he  laid  the  foundations 
of  the  dynastic  rule,  which  the  young  Emperor  Shun 
Chih  and  his  immediate  descendants  were  destined  to 
carry  to  an  eminence  of  fame  rarely  equalled  in  the  history 
of  China. 

We  have  thought  it  advisable  to  narrate  thus  fully  the 
origin  and  history  of  the  warlike  clansmen  who  replaced 
the  Mings,  and  thereafter  ruled  over  the  world’s  largest 
Empire  for  270  years,  because  some  knowledge  of  the 
antecedents  and  traditions  of  the  Imperial  Clans  is  neces¬ 
sary  to  a  proper  appreciation  of  many  later  events  in  the 

1  The  Manchu  dynasty  instituted  three  superior  and  five  inferior 
banners,  to  one  of  which  every  Manchu  belonged,  as  well  as  all  the 
Mongols  and  Chinese  who  had  assisted  in  the  conquest  of  China.  The 
three  superior  banners  are  :  Bordered  yellow,  plain  yellow,  and  plain 
white.  The  five  inferior  :  Bordered  white,  plain  red,  bordered  red, 
plain  blue  and  bordered  blue.  After  the  conquest,  the  inner  city  of 
Peking  was  assigned  to  the  several  banners  by  districts,  starting  from 
the  North.  The  colours  were  supposed  to  represent  the  five  elements  : 
earth,  metal,  wood,  fire  and  water.  The  yellow  banners,  which  were 
quartered  in  the  North  of  the  city,  represented  earth,  supposed  by  the 
Chinese  to  subdue  the  element  of  water.  The  white  banners  held  the 
North-East  and  North-West  of  the  city,  immediately  to  the  South  of 
the  yellow  banners ;  they  represented  metal,  which  is  supposed  to 
subdue  the  element  of  wood.  The  red  banners  occupied  the  quarter 
in  the  centre,  from  the  Ch’i  hua  Gate  to  the  “  P’ing  tse  ”  Gate ;  they 
represented  the  element  fire,  which  subdues  metal.  Lastly,  the  blue 
banners  were  stationed  at  the  extreme  South  of  the  Tartar  City ;  they 
represented  water,  which  subdues  fire. 

160 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


history  of  the  dynasty,  and  of  the  causes  of  its  subsequent 
falling  away  from  the  grace  that  distinguished  Nurhachi 
and  his  immediate  posterity.  For  the  same  reason  the 
following  genealogical  tree  should  be  of  interest,  even 
though  to-day  that  interest  has  become  chiefly  historical 
and  academic. 


GENEALOGY  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  GIORO 
(Founder  of  the  Manchu  Dynasty  in  China) 

Takoshi  :  killed  by  officers  of  the  Ming  Emperor  Wanli  in  1583. 

His  issue  : 

1.  Murhachi. 

2.  Shurhachi :  whose  son  Chirhalang  (Prince  Cheng)  was  Co- 

Regent  with  Prince  Jui  at  Peking  in  1643.  Founder  of  the 
hereditary  princedom  of  Cheng. 

3.  Nurhachi:  whose  mother  was  Sitala;  born  1559,  died  1626. 

Known  in  history  as  Taitsu,  “  Exalted  Founder.”  Nurhachi 
married  a  daughter  of  Prince  Yangkunu,  Yehonala,  who  was 
the  mother  of  T’ai  Tsung,  his  successor.  She  died  in  1603. 

Nurhachi  had  issue  : 

1.  Arhhatutumen  :  sentenced  to  death  in  1615;  his  son,  Prince 

Chingchin,  was  a  distinguished  soldier,  who  died  about  1650. 

2.  Taishan  :  Prince  Li,  founder  of  the  senior  princely  house  of 

Li;  died  in  1648.  (The  title  of  Sun  was  taken  by  the 
successors  of  Prince  Li  for  five  generations,  after  which  the 
present  title  of  Li  was  resumed.) 

3.  Abai :  ennobled  as  Duke. 

4.  Tangkutai. 

5.  Mangkurtai  :  allowed  to  commit  suicide  in  1633. 

6.  Tapai. 

7.  Abtai  :  Prince  Jaoyii,  who  died  in  1646. 

8.  Huangtaiki :  who  succeeded  his  father  as  Emperor. 

9.  Baptai. 

10.  Deklei  :  cashiered  and  removed  from  the  Imperial  Clan. 

11.  Babuhai. 

12.  Achiko  :  Prince  Ying,  who  was  privileged  to  commit  suicide 

by  Imperial  order  in  1651. 

13.  Laimpu. 

14.  Dorgun  :  Prince  Jui,  the  Regent;  founder  of  the  House  of 

Jui.  Died  in  1650,  aged  39.  Posthumously  accused  of 
rebellion  against  the  State,  and  name  removed  from  the 

161 


M 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


Imperial  Clan.  In  1778  his  honours  were  restored  to  him, 
when  he  was  given  the  posthumous  name  of  “  Loyal,”  and  his 
descendants  were  allowed  to  resume  their  former  title. 

15.  Toto  :  Prince  Yu,  own  brother  of  Dorgun,  and  founder  of  the 
House  of  Yu.  Died  in  1649.  His  son,  Toni,  succeeded  as 
Prince  Hsin. 

Tluangtaiki  :  known  in  history  as  T’ai  Tsung  or  the  Illustrious  Ancestor. 

Born  in  1592.  Married  Bochito,  daughter  of  the  Khorchin 
Prince  Sesang,  mother  of  Shun  chi  h,  Kang  Hsi’s  Empress 
Grand  Dowager,  who  died  in  1688.  Succeeded  in  1626. 
In  1636  adopted  the  title  of  Ta  Ch’ing,  “  Great  Pure,”  for  his 
dynasty.  Died  in  1643. 

His  issue  were  : 

2.  Mengko  :  Prince  Su,  ancestor  of  the  princely  family  of  Su. 
Imprisoned  on  a  charge  of  treason  in  1648  by  the  Regent. 
Posthumously  canonised  with  restoration  of  all  his  honours 
and  titles. 

2.  Shosai  :  Prince  Ch’eng  Tse ;  his  son  Bokoto  was  the  founder 

of  the  princely  family  of  Chuang,  and  ancestor  of  the  Boxer 
Prince  of  that  name  who  committed  suicide. 

3.  Kaosai, 

4.  Fulin  :  reigned  as  Shunchih. 

5.  Bomubokoi-li :  Prince  Hsiang;  died  in  1656. 

Emperor  Shunchih  :  born  1638;  succeeded  1643;  assumed  government 
in  1651,  and  died  in  1661.  Married  (1)  Borchichin  of  the 
Khorchin  Mongol  tribe  in  1651.  She  disagreed  with  her 
sovereign  lord,  and  was  reduced  to  the  position  of  concubine 
of  the  third  rank  by  the  Empress  Dowager.  (2)  A  daughter 
of  Prince  Chorji  of  the  Khorchins,  K’ang  Hsi’s  En^ress 
Dowager,  died  in  1718. 

Shun  Chili  had  issue  : 

1.  Fucliuan  :  Prince  Yu;  died  1703.  Referred  to  by  the  first 

Russian  ambassador  to  the  Court  of  Peking  as  the  most 
prominent  subject  of  K’ang  Ilsi. 

2.  Hsuanyeli :  who  became  Emperor  with  reign  title  of  K’ang  Hsi. 

3.  Changning :  Prince  Kung;  died  1703.  His  son,  Mantuhu, 

joined  the  rebellious  brothers  of  Yung  Cheng. 

K'ang  Hsi :  born  1654;  assumed  the  government  in  1667;  died  1722. 

His  first  Empress  was  a  daughter  of  Gobla  of  the  Hashli 
Clan,  who  died  in  1674.  His  second  was  of  the  Niuhulu 
Clan,  a  daughter  of  Duke  Obilung — died  1678.  His  third 
was  of  the  Tungchia  Clan — died  in  1689.  His  fourth  was 
of  the  Wuya  Clan ;  she  was  the  mother  of  Yung  Cheng  and 
by  him  exalted  to  the  rank  of  Empress  on  his  accession 
to  the  Throne.1 

1  K’ang  Hsi’s  sons  are  enumerated  elsewhere  :  vide  pp.  245  -247. 

162 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


Yung  Cheng  :  born  1678;  died  1735;  married  the  Lady  Niuhulu,  who 
became  the  mother  of  Ch’ien  Lung  and  Empress  Dowager 
during  his  reign.  A  woman  of  great  strength  of  character; 
she  accompanied  her  son  in  many  of  his  journeys  all  over 
China.  Died  in  1777,  aged  88,  the  possessor  of  eighteen 
honorific  characters  in  her  title. 

Yung  Cheng  had  issue  : 

1.  Hungli :  who  succeeded  his  father  as  Ch’ien  Lung.  During 

his  father’s  lifetime  known  as  Prince  Jewel. 

2.  Hung-chou  :  or  Prince  Ho;  died  1770. 

3.  Hungchan  :  Prince  Kuo.  As  a  lad  he  was  called  Yuanming- 

yuan  or  Round  Bright  Garden  (the  name  of  the  Summer 
Palace).  Was  reduced  to  the  rank  of  Beileh,  or  Prince  of 
the  third  order,  but  Ch’ien  Lung  visited  him  on  his  death-bed, 
restored  his  original  princedom,  and  had  him  canonised. 
Died  in  1765. 

Ch'ien  Lung:  born  in  1711;  abdicated  in  1796;  died  February  7, 
1799.  His  first  Empress  was  of  the  Fucha  Clan ;  the  second 
of  the  Yehonala  Clan.  The  latter  accompanied  her  husband 
and  mother-in-law  on  an  excursion  to  the  South  in  1765. 
She  misbehaved  herself  during  this  journey,  treating  her 
mother-in-law  with  flagrant  disrespect  and  flippancy,  and 
was  sent  back  in  disgrace  to  Peking  from  Hangchou,  shut  up 
in  the  “  Cold  Palace,”  and  subsequently  deposed. 

Ch’ien  Lung  had  issue  : 

1.  Yunghuang!  Prince  Ting,  son  of  a  concubine,  and  ancestor 

of  Prince  Jti  Lang,  one  of  Tzii  Hsi’s  Grand  Councillors.  This 
Prince  Ting  was  debarred  from  the  succession,  owing  to  his 
being  the  son  of  a  subordinate  concubine. 

2.  Yung  Lien  :  created  Heir  Apparent,  but  died  in  1738,  aged  13. 

3.  Yung  Chang:  Prince  Hsun,  died  1760. 

4.  Yung  Ch'eng  :  Prince  Li,  who  became  heir  to  his  uncle,  Yun 

Tao,  one  of  Yung  Cheng’s  rebellious  brothers.  Died  in  1777. 

5.  Yung  Ch'i  :  Prince  Jung.  The  Emperor  intended  him  to  be 

Heir  Apparent  on  the  death  of  the  seventh  son,  Prince  Che. 
He  died  in  1766,  aged  25. 

6.  Yung  Jung  :  Prince  Chih,  made  heir  to  his  uncle,  Prince  Yun 

FIsi.  Died  in  1790,  aged  46. 

7.  Yung  Tsung  :  Prince  Che.  Died  1748,  aged  3. 

8.  Yung  Hsiian  :  Prince  Yi ;  held  many  Government  posts  as 

adviser  to  his  brother,  the  Emperor  Chia  Ch’ing.  Died  in 
(  ?)  1832,  aged  86.  His  son,  Mien  Chih,  succeeded  to  the  Prince¬ 
dom  of  Yi  which  was,  however,  reduced  by  one  grade.  Yi 
Tsai,  son  of  Mien  Chih,  was  declared  heir  to  Prince  Ching, 
but  was  afterwards  deprived  of  the  title  when  the  succession 
to  the  house  of  Ch’ing  went  to  Mien  Ti,  adopted  father  of 
the  present  Prince  Ch’ing. 

163 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


9.  Yung  Hsing :  Prince  Ch’eng,  a  great  scholar,  and  one  of  the 
most  famous  caligraphists  of  the  dynasty.  Was  adviser  to 
his  brother  Chia  Ch’ing.  Died  in  1823,  aged  71.  Great 
grandfather  of  Prince  Tsai  Hsiao. 

10.  Yung  Ch'i  :  died  in  1776,  aged  25. 

11.  Yung  Yen  :  succeeded  his  father  as  the  Emperor  Chia  Ch’ing. 

12.  Yung  Lin :  Prince  Ch’ing,  died  1820,  aged  53.  Grandfather 

(by  adoption)  of  Yi  Kuang,  the  present  Prince  Ch’ing,  who 
was  originally  an  impoverished  Imperial  clansman,  adopted 
into  the  nearer  branch  of  the  Imperial  family. 

Emperor  Chia  CKing:  born  1760;  created  Prince  Chia  (Admirable); 

took  over  the  reins  of  government  in  February  1796;  killed 
by  lightning  near  Jehol,  September  1820.  Married  Hsitala, 
daughter  of  Horchingo,  the  mother  of  Taokuang,  who  died 
in  1797,  and,  en  secondes  noces,  the  Lady  Niuhulu,  who  was 
promoted  to  be  Empress  shortly  after  Ch’ien  Lung’s  death. 
She  was  Taokuang’s  Empress  Dowager,  and  died  in  1850, 
pre-deceasing  Taokuang  by  one  month. 

Chia  Ch’ing  had  issue  : 

1.  Mienning  :  succeeded  his  father  as  Emperor  Taokuang. 

2.  Mienkai  :  Prince  Tun,  died  1839. 

3.  Mien  Hsin :  Prince  Huai,  died  1828;  succeeded  by  Yi  Yo,  or 

Yichih,  as  he  was  subsequently  named.  Yichih  died  in  1850, 
and  Prince  Tuan,  the  Boxer  Prince,  was  adopted  as  his  heir. 

4.  Mien  Yu  :  Prince  Hui,  died  in  1865.  His  sons  were  :  Yihsiang, 

Yihsiin  and  Yimo.  Yihsiin  was  father  of  the  Duke  Tsai  Tse, 
Finance  Minister  towards  the  end  of  Tzii  ILsi’s  reign. 

Taokuang  :  born  1782,  succeeded  1820  and  died  1850.  Married  (1)  the 
Lady  Niuhulu,  who  died  before  his  accession  but  was  posthu¬ 
mously  made  Empress ;  (2)  Lady  Tungchia,  who  died  in 
1833,  and  (3)  Lady  Niuhulu,  daughter  of  Yiling,  mother  of 
the  Emperor  ILsien  Feng;  created  Empress  in  1834,  died  in 
1840 ;  (4)  Lady  Borjikit,  who  was  instrumental  in  selecting 
Tzii  Hsi  for  the  Palace.  She  was  elevated  to  be  Empress 
Dowager  a  week  before  she  died,  in  1855. 

Taokuang  had  issue  : 

1.  Yiwei  :  son  of  the  concubine  Yehonala ;  born  1808,  died  1831. 

Tasichung  (or  Tsai  Chih,  as  he  was  afterwards  called),  son  of 
an  Imperial  clansman,  was  adopted  as  his  heir.  Tsai  Chih’s 
son  is  P’ulun,  who  very  nearly  became  Emperor  in  1875. 

2.  Yikang  :  died  in  infancy. 

3.  Yichi  :  died  in  infancy. 

4  Yichu  :  who  reigned  as  ILsien  Feng. 

5  Yitsung :  Prince  Tun,  was  adopted  as  heir  to  Mienkai  (see 

above).  His  sons  were  :  {a)  Tsai  Lien,  born  1856,  one  of 
the  Boxer  Princes.  ( b )  Tsai  Yi,  Prince  Tuan,  born  December 

164 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


1856.  His  son,  P’uchiin,  was  the  Boxer  Heir  Apparent  (whom 
Tzii  Hsi  spanked).  He  married  a  daughter  of  the  Mongol 
Prince  Lo.  (c)  Tsailan,  the  Boxer  Prince,  exiled  to  Urumchi ; 
born  in  1857.  ( d )  Tsaiying.  ( e )  Tsaiching.  (/)  Tsaihao. 

6.  Yihsin  :  Prince  Kung,  born  1833,  died  in  1898.  His  eldest 

son  (a)  Tsaich’eng,  born  in  1857,  predeceased  his  father; 
( b )  Tsai  Ying,  born  in  1861,  adopted  as  heir  to  his  uncle, 
Prince  Chung,  the  eighth  Prince.  P’uwei,  the  present  Prince 
Kung,  is  his  son.  P’uwei  considers  he  was  wrongfully 
ousted  from  the  Throne  on  the  death  of  Kuang  Hsu. 

7.  Yihaan :  Prince  Ch’un,  born  1840,  died  1891.  Married 

Yehonala,  sister  of  Tzii  Hsi,  by  whom  he  had  issue  :  (1)  Tsai 
Han.  (2)  Tsai  Tien,  Emperor  Kuang  Hsii  (some  Chinese 
assert  that  Tzii  Hsi  was  really  the  mother  of  Kuang  Hsii). 
By  another  wife  of  low  origin,  named  Tsui  (she  was  the 
daughter  of  a  groom),  he  also  had  issue;  Tsai  Feng,  the 
Ex-Regent,  born  1882,  married  a  daughter  of  Jung  Lu ; 
father  of  the  Emperor  Hsiian  Tung  (Pu’yi),  born  1906,  and 
Pukuang.  By  the  same  concubine  Tsai  Tao  was  born ;  his 
elder  brother,  Tsai  Hsiin,  is  by  another  concubine. 

8.  Yiho  :  Prince  Chung,  born  1844,  died  1868. 

9.  Yihui  :  Prince  Fu,  married  a  niece  of  Tzii  Hsi,  and  was  dismissed 

by  her  from  office  in  1898  because  of  his  sympathy  towards 
Kuanghsii.  He  was  pardoned  in  January  1909,  on  the  day 
of  Yuan  Shih-k’ai’s  dismissal. 

Ilsien  Feng  :  born  in  1831,  died  in  1861.  Married  (1)  Sakota,  daughter 
of  Muyanga,  in  1848,  who  died  in  1850,  one  month  before 
his  accession.  She  was  posthumously  raised  to  the  rank  of 
Empress,  and  was  the  “  centre  ”  of  the  three  Empresses, 
Tzu  An  being  the  “  eastern  ”  and  Tzii  Hsi  the  “  western.” 
(2)  Niuhulu,  also  daughter  of  Muyanga,  who  was  made 
concubine  in  1852;  afterwards  Empress  Dowager;  died 
April  1881.  (3)  Yehonala,  afterwards  Tzii  Hsi. 

Hsien  Feng  had  issue  : 

1.  Tsai  Ch'un,  born  1856,  died  1875,  reigned  as  Tung  Chih. 

2.  An  infant  son,  who  died  a  few  days  after  birth. 

Tung  Cliih  :  married  Alute,  daughter  of  Chungchi,  who  died  in  1875. 
Kuang  Hsu  :  born  August  1871 ;  married  Yehonala  1899,  died 
November  22,  1908.  Was  practically  deposed  by  Tzii  Hsi, 
after  the  coup  d'etat  of  September  1898. 

Hsiian  Tung  :  (P’uyi)  son  of  Tsai  Feng,  succeeded  November  1908, 
abdicated  February  12,  1912. 


165 


CHAPTER  VI 


THE  MINGS  AT  NANKING 

Debauched  and  cowardly  as  they  were,  the  Princes 
and  courtiers  of  the  Mings  were  not  disposed  to  relinquish 
without  a  struggle  their  rights  to  the  Dragon  Throne,  or 
their  claims  to  the  long-suffering  allegiance  of  the  Chinese 
people.  After  the  fall  of  Peking  and  the  desecration  of 
its  high  places  by  the  rebel  hordes  of  Li  Tzu-ch’eng,  for 
a  time  there  was  nothing  but  a  sauve  qui  pent,  without 
purpose  or  direction;  but  when  they  saw  their  fierce 
harrier 1  himself  driven  forth  by  new  conquerors  and 
pursued  by  one  who,  until  then,  had  been  their  dynasty’s 
mainstay  against  the  Manchus,  small  wonder  that  the 
more  energetic  members  of  the  Imperial  family  took  heart 
of  grace  and  endeavoured  to  rally  their  scattered  forces 
upon  a  new  centre.2  The  sybarite  retains  to  the  end  his 

1  Li  Tzu-ch’eng’s  nickname  was  “  Prince  Harrier.” 

2  An  initial  cause  of  their  disorganisation  lay  in  the  fact  that  the 
Heir  Apparent  had  disappeared  after  the  fall  of  the  city,  and  that  none 
knew  if  he  were  alive  or  dead.  Several  months  after  the  Manchu 
Empei’or  had  been  proclaimed  in  Peking  this  Prince’s  whereabouts 
were  unknown,  but  eventually  he  was  brought  secretly  by  a  eunuch 
to  the  house  of  one  who  had  had  high  office  under  the  Mings,  and  with 
whom  the  Ming  Princess  Imperial  was  residing.  The  meeting  between 
brother  and  sister  was  most  affecting;  he  had  been  in  hiding  at  a 
Buddhist  monastery  since  his  escape  from  the  city,  but  was  weary 
of  the  suspense  and  grief  of  his  existence,  and  came  to  seek  his  relatives. 
The  Princess  and  his  host  begged  him  to  change  his  name  and  adopt 
a  disguise,  but  he  refused.  Shortly  afterwards  he  was  recognised  by 
several  renegade  officials  and  eunuchs  and  thrown  into  prison  by  order 
of  the  Regent.  The  merchants  and  gentry  of  Peking  petitioned  that 
his  young  life  might  be  spared,  but  the  Regent  had  no  desire  to  leave 
a  rallying  point  for  the  conspiracies  of  legitimists,  and  the  unfortunate 
youth  was  put  to  death  by  poison  in  the  Board  of  Punishments. 

166 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


habits  and  ambitions  of  luxury,  and  with  the  degenerate 
Mings  the  lust  of  perquisites  and  power,  of  pomp  and 
circumstance,  was  not  killed  by  their  cataclysmic  disasters. 
For  eighteen  years,  harried  from  one  short-lived  capital 
to  another,  four  successive  claimants  to  the  Throne  of 
their  dynasty  retained  some  semblance  of  their  regal 
state  and  a  place  in  the  minds,  if  not  the  hearts,  of  their 
people.  During  these  years  there  were  times  when,  had 
there  been  a  strong  man  amongst  them,  their  dominion 
might  well  have  been  restored  and  the  Manchus  driven 
back,  for  the  Confucian  virtues  of  faithfulness  and  loyal 
devotion  (which  have  generally  characterised  the  relations 
between  the  literati  and  their  Sovereign  in  Chinese  history) 
were  not  lacking  at  this  period;  many  a  brave  soldier, 
many  a  stoic  philosopher  of  the  mandarins,  upheld  the 
proud  traditions  of  their  caste,  and  died  rather  than 
submit  to  the  rule  of  the  alien,  and  many  millions  of  the 
“  stupid  people  ”  went  bravely  to  their  graves  because 
of  that  loyalty  to  the  central  idea  of  the  Confucian  doctrine. 
But  the  Mings  were  all  unworthy,  even  in  adversity.  As 
they  had.  been  before  the  threatening  storm,  so  they  re¬ 
mained  when  its  passing  had  left  their  dynasty  a  tempest- 
driven  wreck — invertebrate,  irresolute  to  the  end.  Four 
years  after  the  flight  from  Peking,  when  the  adherents  of 
Kuei  Wang,  the  last  of  the  Mings,  were  making  a  successful 
stand  in  the  Kuang  provinces,  when  Coxinja  was  begin¬ 
ning  to  organise  new  forces  of  resistance  to  the  Manchus, 
and  when  several  rebel  forces  had  taken  the  field  on  their 
own  account,  a  little  statesmanship,  a  little  courage,  might 
have  won  the  day.  But  it  was  not  to  be.  The  little  Court 
in  exile  kept  up  its  tinsel  state,  grateful  to  its  loyal 
adherents  only  so  long  as  they  replenished  the  Privy 
purse  which  paid  for  its  revels;  leaving  its  armies  un¬ 
victualled  whilst  it  rehearsed  some  new  play,1  or  sent  the 

1  It  is  recorded  of  Hung  Kuang,  the  first  of  the  fugitive  Emperors 
of  the  Mings,  that  on  a  certain  occasion,  while  the  Regent’s  forces 

167 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


eunuchs  through  the  country  in  search  of  new  favourites 
for  the  harem  of  the  “  Palace,”  that  was  now  a  moving 
tent. 

Under  these  circumstances,  the  wretched  end  of  the 
Ming  claimants,  pursued  and  slain  each  in  his  turn,  does 
not  excite  our  sympathies  so  much  as  the  calamities  which 
the  miserable  people  were  doomed  to  bear  because  of  the 
Mings’  last  struggle  for  the  Throne.  History,  as  usual,  says 
but  little  of  the  widespread  and  awful  devastation  created 
by  that  struggle,  of  the  pitiful  sufferings  of  the  masses; 
that  tale  was  told  (as  it  is  being  told  again  in  China  to-day) 
by  cities  of  the  dead,  by  roofless  villages  and  homeless 
wanderers  throughout  all  the  land.  In  the  next  chapter, 
which  narrates  the  sack  of  Yang  Chou-fu,  the  reader  will 
find  a  plain,  dispassionate  account  by  an  eye-witness  of 
the  fate  which  overtook  one  city  because  a  gallant  soldier 
refused  to  renounce  his  principles  and  his  allegiance. 
That  soldier  was  General  Shih  K’o-fa,  a  staunch  loyalist, 
a  distinguished  scholar,  and  a  man  of  bravery  so  rare 
that  it  won  for  him  the  sincere  respect  and  goodwill  of 
the  Manchu  Regent.  When  the  Mings  had  gathered  at 
Nanking  and  established  there,  under  a  grandson  of  Wan 
Li,  the  semblance  of  a  Government  and  a  Court,  it  was  to 
Shih  K’o-fa  that  the  eyes  of  all  men  were  turned  to  prevent 
the  Manchu  invasion  from  coming  South. 

Had  he  not  been  handicapped  by  the  jealous  intrigues 
of  his  rivals  at  Court,  led  by  one  Ma  Shih-ying  (who  had 
been  one  of  the  faction  of  the  notorious  eunuch  Wei 
Chung-hsien),  Shih  K’o-fa  might  have  been  able  to  hold 
the  Manchus  in  check  at  the  Huai  River.  Before  the 
Regent’s  forces  began  their  advance  towards  the  Yangtsze 
he  had  collected  and  organised  an  effective  army  of  60,000 


were  advancing  to  the  siege  of  Yang  Chou-fu,  his  eunuchs,  seeing  him 
greatly  depressed,  inquired  the  cause  of  his  grief.  “  What  distresses 
me,”  he  replied,  “  is  that  there  is  not  in  all  my  Court  an  actor  worthy 
of  the  name.” 


168 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


Shensi  troops.  Besides  these,  the  Mings  had  four  divisions, 
of  about  10,000  men  each,  encamped  at  strategic  points 
in  the  provinces  of  Anhui  and  Kiangsu.  Shih  asked  only 
to  be  given  a  free  hand  and  independent  control  over 
these  forces,  to  be  relieved  of  all  vexatious  interference 
by  the  courtiers  and  civil  officials  at  Nanking;  but  the 
new  Emperor,  foredoomed  to  vacillation  and  folly,  gave 
ear  to  the  counsels  of  Ma  Shih-ying,  and  ordered  that  the 
Commander-in-chief  should  act  only  upon  orders  from 
Nanking.  Meanwhile,  he  continued  to  squander  money  on 
revels  and  banquets,  while  the  troops  in  the  field  were 
left  insufficiently  fed  and  clad. 

In  the  spring  of  1645,  the  dissensions  between  the  rival 
parties  at  Court  prevented  the  Commander-in-chief  from 
carrying  out  any  definite  plan  of  campaign.  In  an 
eloquent  and  plain-spoken  memorial  he  placed  the  facts 
before  the  Emperor.  “  Whilst  Your  Majesty  is  banqueting 
on  choice  viands,”  he  wrote,  “  and  quaffing  wine  from 
beakers  of  jade,  it  behoves  you  to  remember  your  starving 
servants  in  the  North.  If,  in  spite  of  all  his  efforts,  the  late 
Emperor  was  unable  to  ward  off  disaster,  how  much  more 
should  you,  inferior  to  him  in  ability,  tremble  as  one  who 
stands  on  the  brink  of  a  precipice.  If  you  perform  your 
duties  with  zeal  and  vigilance,  it  may  be  that  your  an¬ 
cestors’  spirits  in  Heaven  will  intercede  with  the  Almighty 
on  your  behalf,  and  that  your  heritage  may  be  regained. 
But  if  you  remain  in  idle  dalliance  in  Nanking,  lavishing 
favours  on  sycophants  and  forgetful  of  the  welfare  of  your 
troops,  if  you  proclaim  our  secret  plans  from  the  housetops 
and  fail  to  distinguish  between  loyal  devotion  and  treason, 
if  you  show  yourself  so  lacking  in  dignity  that  the  worthy 
men  about  you  are  constrained  to  retire  from  official  life, 
and  the  brave  hesitate  to  serve  you,  then  assuredly  your 
ancestors  will  regard  you  as  unworthy  of  their  aid,  and 
destruction,  inevitable  and  final,  will  come  upon  you.” 

Just  at  this  critical  juncture  the  Court  received  word 

169 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


that  the  people  of  Honan  and  Shantung  had  risen  against 
the  officials  placed  over  them  by  Li  Tzu-ch’eng,  and  were 
sending  deputies  to  beg  the  Mings  to  restore  their  authority. 
Once  more  Shih  pleaded  with  the  Emperor  :  “  Send  now 
a  message  of  sympathy  to  your  subjects,”  he  said,  “  that 
they  may  know  that  there  is  still  a  ruler  in  China.  The 
people  will  then  turn  to  you,  and  in  time  you  will  recover 
the  lost  North.”  The  Emperor  was  pleased  to  follow  this 
advice,  and  as  a  result  General  Yi,  at  the  head  of  the  Shensi 
troops,  marched  into  Honan  and  recovered  K’ai  Feng-fu 
and  Kuei  Te-fu  for  the  Mings.  But  the  cabal  against 
Shih,  fearing  to  see  him  attain  to  power  through  such 
successes,  were  able,  by  their  evil  intrigues,  to  cut  off  his 
supplies.  His  supporters  at  Nanking  were  actively  per¬ 
secuted  by  Ma  Shih-ying’s  party,  and  many  were  beheaded 
or  banished,  while  the  General’s  memorials  were  sup¬ 
pressed.  Meanwhile,  the  Manchus  were  pressing  down 
through  Shantung,  under  the  command  of  Prince  Yii, 
a  younger  brother  of  the  Regent  and  uncle  of  the  boy 
Emperor  Shun-chih. 

Anxiously  Shih  K’o-fa  waited,  on  the  banks  of  the  Huai, 
for  the  provisions  and  munitions  of  war  which  never  came. 
At  last,  in  despair,  he  sent  a  final  memorial  :  “  Since  the 
catastrophe  of  last  spring  (1664)  your  ancestors’  graves 
have  been  left  untended,  and  chaos  reigns  throughout  your 
Empire.  Not  a  blow  has  Your  Majesty  struck  in  its 
defence.  You  forget  that  Nanking  is  but  a  temporary 
capital,  and  that  it  should  be  regarded  only  as  a  base 
from  which  to  direct  far-reaching  operations  against  the 
Manchus.  It  is  absurd  to  suppose  that  unless  you  take 
the  offensive  you  will  be  suffered  to  remain  there  in  peace. 
When  you  came  to  the  Throne  your  troops  were  filled 
with  martial  spirit,  but  to-day  all  is  changed.  The  army 
is  starved,  while  your  Court  revels  in  luxury.  Of  a  surety 
doom  awaits  you.  My  spies  report  that  the  flower  of  the 
Manchu  army  is  advancing  and  that  their  fleets  are 

170 


A  Banquet  given  to  the  Officers  of  the  Army  at  the  “  Hall  of  Purple  Light  ”  in  the  Lake  Palace  Enclosure. 
(From  the  Imperial  collection  of  pictures  commemorating  H.M.  Ch'ien  Lung’s  victorious  campaigns  in  Sungaria. 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


speeding  down  the  Grand  Canal.  All  North  of  the  Yellow 
River  has  been  irrevocably  lost,  and  here  I  sit  by  the  Huai, 
disabled  for  want  of  provisions.  Is  our  avenging  army 
not  to  move  a  step  ?  Will  you  leave  the  chastisement  of 
the  rebels  to  the  Manchus  ?  The  Manchu  Prince  has 
dared  to  insult  you,  branding  you  with  the  name  of 
usurper.  He  has  treated  your  envoys  with  contumely. 
Between  these  invaders  and  us  there  can  be  no  peace; 
we  must  meet  them  on  the  field  of  battle.  I  doubt 
whether  we  should  be  certain  of  victory  even  if  we  were  to 
sink  our  ships  in  the  stream  and  destroy  our  camps,  deter¬ 
mined  to  crush  the  foe  or  die  in  the  attempt.  How  much 
more,  then,  is  our  case  hopeless  when  those  who  should 
lead  us  stand  idly  by  ?  A  Sovereign  must  show  resolution 
if  the  army  is  to  show  spirit.  Let  the  Sovereign  be  lacking 
in  decision  and  the  army  must  needs  be  lacking  in 
courage.  Let  not  the  flatterers  who  surround  Your  Majesty 
delude  you  further  with  fair  words.  It  behoves  you  to 
issue  orders  that  the  troops  shall  be  properly  equipped 
for  a  long  campaign,  and  that  for  bravery  high  rewards 
will  be  bestowed.  Is  this  a  time  for  lavishing  honours 
on  unworthy  favourites,  who  should  count  themselves 
lucky  that  they  have  escaped  execution  ?  Fawning 
eunuchs  intrigue  to  secure  high  office  for  themselves  and 
for  their  proteges,  while  good  men  and  true  are  forced  out 
into  obscurity. 

“  How  can  we  march  without  food  ?  You  cannot  stimu¬ 
late  men  to  brave  deeds  by  words  alone.  Let  the  money 
in  your  treasury  be  now  devoted  to  your  army,  and  let 
your  Palace  festivities  cease.  Refuse  all  gifts  of  tribute 
and  exercise  thrift,  even  in  your  sacrificial  rites.  Until 
you  have  regained  your  capital,  dalliance  in  the  seraglio 
and  at  the  banquet  will  bring  no  contentment  to  your 
jaded  appetite.  Our  Manchu  foes  are  watching  your 
every  action ;  if  you  amend  not  your  ways  the  allegiance 
of  your  subjects  will  surely  be  forfeited.  You  should 

171 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


rise  early  and  not  till  late  seek  rest,  mindful  ever  of  your 
forbears’  achievements,  and  eager  to  avenge  your  pre¬ 
decessor’s  death.  Only  summon  good  men  around  you, 
and  Heaven,  relenting,  may  yet  aid  your  cause.  I,  as 
a  soldier,  have  no  right  to  meddle  in  Court  affairs,  but 
where  the  Court  is  not  pure,  the  army  will  surely  fail  in 
its  duty.” 

This  protest  proved  as  unavailing  as  the  rest ;  Ma  Shih- 
ying’s  party  was  too  busy  persecuting  and  slaying  its 
opponents  to  give  heed  to  the  dangers  of  the  military 
situation.  Feasts  and  theatricals  were  still  the  order  of 
the  day  at  Court;  the  Emperor  abandoned  himself  to 
drinking  and  profligacy.  The  Manchu  armies  advanced 
in  four  divisions,  and  in  April  1645  only  the  Yellow  River 
separated  their  advance  guard  from  Shih  K’o-fa’s  out¬ 
posts.  His  ablest  lieutenant,  General  Yi,  was  treacherously 
murdered  by  a  brother  officer  who  deserted  to  the  enemy ; 
on  all  sides  the  Manchus  were  harrying  the  country. 
When  at  last  the  Throne  gave  Shih  a  free  hand,  it  was  too 
late.  Then,  as  a  rising  broke  out  in  Nanking  itself,  Shih 
was  hurriedly  summoned  to  come  back  to  the  rescue. 
He  obeyed,  leaving  the  road  open  to  the  Manchus  to  enter 
Kiangsu  and  Anhui. 

So  swiftly  moved  the  Manchu  cavalry  that  Shih  had 
only  just  time  to  return  from  Nanking  and  Sochow  and 
prepare  Yang  Chou-fu  (the  key  to  Nanking)  against  a 
siege.  No  sooner  were  his  dispositions  complete  than 
Prince  Yii’s  forces  appeared  upon  the  scene.  A  herald 
from  the  Prince  came  to  demand  his  surrender.  Shih 
cursed  the  messenger  from  the  city  wall.  The  envoy 
replied  :  “  The  fame  of  Your  Excellency’s  loyal  and 

eminent  services  is  spread  throughout  China,  yet  the  Ming 
Emperor  does  not  give  you  his  confidence.  Why,  then, 
not  gain  a  name  and  a  reward  by  joining  the  Manchus  ?  ” 
Shih  angrily  drew  a  bow  upon  him,  but  the  shot  missed 
its  aim.  Prince  Yii  was  most  sincerely  anxious  that  so 

172 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


brave  a  man  should  not  die  in  so  bad  a  cause;  he  there¬ 
fore  delayed  the  bombardment  of  the  city  and  made 
repeated  efforts  to  get  him  to  parley.  All  his  efforts  having 
proved  futile,  he  ordered  the  assault. 

Shih,  foreseeing  the  inevitable  end,  gave  orders  that  his 
body  should  be  buried  near  to  the  mausoleum  of  the  founder 
of  the  dynasty  at  Nanking.  For  eight  days  he  maintained 
a  splendid  defence,  doing  great  execution  amongst  the 
Manchus  with  his  superior  artillery  of  Jesuit  manufacture. 
Finally  the  Manchus  effected  a  breach  in  the  north-west 
wall  of  the  city  and  all  was  over.  Shih  called  one  of  his 
officers  and  said :  “  The  city  is  lost.  Take,  I  pray  you, 
your  sword  and  kill  me.”  This  officer  (named  Chuang) 
obeyed,  but  his  heart  failed  him,  and  the  blow  miscarried, 
so  Shih  seized  the  weapon  and  wounded  himself  with  it 
in  the  throat.  Here  some  of  his  men  forcibly  intervened, 
and,  putting  him  on  a  horse,  tried  to  escape  with  him  by 
the  South  Gate  of  the  city.  On  reaching  it  they  met  a 
party  of  Manchus.  Shih  K’o-fa  shouted  :  “  I  am  the 

Grand  Secretary  Shih.  Lead  me  to  your  Commander- 
in-chief.”  He  was  brought  before  Prince  Yu,  who  said  : 
“  You  have  made  a  gallant  defence.  Before  the  siege 
I  sent  several  letters  to  Your  Excellency  and  you  refused 
to  negotiate.  Now  that  you  have  done  all  that  duty 
could  dictate  I  would  be  glad  to  give  you  a  high  post. 
You  shall  be  our  Imperial  Commissioner  for  the  pacifica¬ 
tion  of  Nanking  Province.”  Shih  replied  :  “  I  ask  of  you 
no  favour  except  death.”  The  Prince  persevered  :  “  Do 
not  you  see,”  he  said,  “  your  former  colleague,  the  Grand 
Secretary  Hung  Ch’eng-chou?  He  made  his  peace  with 
us  and  now  stands  high  in  our  councils.”  Shih  answered 
with  a  smile  :  “  Howsoever  well  you  may  treat  Hung 
Ch’eng-chou,  your  kindness  cannot  outweigh  the  favours 
which  he  received  from  his  late  Emperor  and  mine.  In 
failing  to  die  with  his  master  and  in  serving  a  new  one 
he  has  proved  himself  disloyal.  Such  a  man  will  never 

173 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


be  loyal  to  any  cause  he  serves.  How  can  you  expect  me 
to  imitate  his  behaviour?  Sooner  or  later  he  will  betray 
you.” 

Sadly  the  Prince  bade  them  lead  him  away,  to  hold  in 
custody.  Repeated  efforts  were  made  to  induce  him  to 
give  in,  but  as  he  firmly  refused,  Prince  Yii  ordered  his 
decapitation  on  the  third  day.  He  was  hurriedly  coffined 
by  General  Yi,  but  to  this  day  no  one  knows  the  place  of 
his  burial.  The  story  was  current  for  many  years  amongst 
the  dwindling  remnants  of  the  Mings  that  Shih  was  not 
beheaded,  and  that  another  was  put  to  death  in  his  place. 
Many  years  afterwards  it  was  rumoured  that  he  had 
taken  the  field  against  the  Manchus  in  Anhui,  but  there 
was  no  truth  in  this. 

Thus,  faithful  to  the  traditions  of  his  caste,  died  a  great 
soldier  and  an  honest  man.  How  strong  were  the  tempta¬ 
tions  held  out  to  him  to  betray  his  unworthy  Sovereign, 
how  many  the  arguments,  which  must  even  have  appealed 
to  him,  against  continuance  of  the  struggle,  may  be 
gathered  from  the  correspondence  which  took  place 
between  the  Manchu  Regent  and  General  Shih  in  the 
autumn  of  the  previous  year,  four  months  after  the  fall 
of  Peking. 

The  Regent’s  first  letter  was  as  follows  :  “  Long  ago, 
at  Moukden,  I  had  heard  of  your  high  reputation  in  Peking 
as  a  scholar,1  and  since  our  victories  over  the  rebels  I 
have  taken  occasion  to  find  out  all  about  you  in  the 
literary  circles  of  the  metropolis.  Some  little  time  ago  I 
sent  you  a  letter  of  kindly  inquiry  and  sympathy  by  the 
hand  of  your  brother,  but  I  know  not  if  you  received  it. 
Reports  have  now  reached  us  that  the  Ming  dynasty  has 
re-established  itself  at  Nanking,  and  that  a  new  Emperor 
has  been  chosen.  Now,  we  are  taught  that  a  man  may 
not  live  under  the  same  sky  with  the  murderer  of  his  father 
or  Sovereign.  Furthermore,  the  “  Spring  and  Autumn 
1  Shih  was  a  native  of  Peking. 

174 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


Annals  ”  state  that  a  Sovereign’s  obsequies  may  not  be 
recorded  so  long  as  his  murderer  remains  unpunished, 
neither  can  the  new  ruler’s  accession  be  considered  to  have 
taken  place.  The  principle  involved  is  vital,  since  its 
object  is  to  minimise  the  frequency  of  rebellions. 

“  That  traitor,  Li  Tzu-ch’eng,  the  ‘  Prince  Harrier,’ 
captured  Peking  and  caused  the  death  of  your  Emperor 
and  of  his  kinsmen,  whilst  scarcely  one  of  his  Chinese 
subjects  ventured  to  draw  bow  in  his  defence.  One  man 
alone,  Wu  San-kuei,  on  your  eastern  boundary,  came  in 
loyal  indignation  to  entreat  our  succour.  In  recognition 
of  long-subsisting  friendship  between  our  States,  and 
regardless  of  outstanding  differences,  we  arrayed  a  host 
of  gallant  warriors,  and  the  rebel  horde  of  dogs  and  rats 
was  swept  before  us  in  a  panic-stricken  rout. 

“  After  capturing  Peking  we  proceeded  forthwith  to 
canonise  your  late  Sovereigns,  and  arranged  for  their 
burial  in  due  accordance  with  the  rites  of  ceremonial 
observance.  We  left  to  your  surviving  Princes  and  high 
officials  their  original  ranks,  treating  them  all  with  the 
utmost  commiseration  and  generosity.  Our  troops  were 
not  allowed  to  loot ;  the  markets  remained  open  as  usual, 
and  the  husbandman  continued  to  till  his  fields  in  peace. 

“  We  had  planned,  now  that  the  cool  weather  of  autumn 
has  come  upon  us,  to  send  a  punitive  expedition,  composed 
of  levies  from  all  parts,  to  pursue  Li  Tzu-ch’eng  into  his 
western  retreat,  and  to  pay  off  your  accumulated  grudges 
against  him — thus  displaying  our  dynasty’s  magnanimity. 
Who  could  have  dreamed  that  you,  worthy  gentleman, 
should  be  so  short-sighted  as  to  seek  the  temporary  con¬ 
tinuance  of  your  dynasty  in  Nanking?  I  greatly  deplore 
that  you  should  be  thus  blind  to  visible  dangers,  and  permit 
yourself  to  cherish  vain  and  deceptive  illusions. 

“tWhen  our  dynasty  captured  Peking  it  was  not  the 
Ming  dynasty  which  was  defeated  by  our  armies,  but  the 
rebel  Prince  Li  Tzu-ch’eng,  who  had  violated  your  ances- 

175 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


tral  temple  and  desecrated  your  Emperor’s  remains.  To 
avenge  your  disgrace  we  spared  no  expense,  and  even 
imposed  heavy  taxes  on  our  own  subjects.  Surely  it 
behoves  all  good  men  and  true  to  be  grateful  and  repay 
this  our  benevolence  !  Nevertheless,  you  have  taken 
advantage  of  the  respite  which  we  have  granted  to  our 
war- weary  hosts,  before  continuing  the  pursuit  of  the  rebels, 
to  establish  your  forces  at  Nanking.  No  doubt  you  hope 
to  follow  the  example  of  the  fisherman  in  the  fable,  who, 
seeing  the  oyster-catcher  with  the  oyster  fastened  on  its 
beak,  rushed  forward,  hoping  to  seize  both  bird  and  oyster. 
Can  such  conduct  be  deemed  reasonable  or  just?  Per¬ 
chance,  forsooth,  you  fondly  imagine  that  the  Yangtsze 
is  a  natural  barrier  which  will  prove  insuperable  to  our 
forces ;  you  hope  that  we  shall  not  succeed  in  4  stemming 
its  current,  even  though  we  block  it  with  our  whips.’  1 
The  rebel  4  Prince  Harrier  ’  had  given  no  offence  to  our 
dynasty ;  it  was  the  Ming  dynasty  which  he  had  scourged 
and  overthrown.  When  we  smote  him  it  was  because  of 
our  sense  of  humanity  and  our  natural  longing  to  avenge 
a  universal  wrong. 

46  But  if  to-day  a  rival  Emperor  enthrones  himself  at 
Nanking,  there  will  be  two  suns  in  the  firmament.  This 
must  not  be.  Do  you  not  see,  moreover,  that  you  are 
playing  into  4  Prince  Harrier’s  ’  hands  ?  Is  it  not  clear 
that  we  shall  have  to  recall  our  levies  from  their  expedition 
against  him  and  dispatch  them  instead  against  yourselves  ? 
In  this  way  he  will  escape  his  well-deserved  chastisement, 
while  you  will  become  the  victims  of  our  wrath. 

44  It  needs  no  diviner’s  skill  in  augury  to  foretell  that  the 
destruction  of  your  poor  remnant  by  the  hands  of  our 
victorious  armies  is  sure  and  inevitable,  seeing  that,  whilst 
still  masters  of  China,  you  were  forced  to  bow  the  knee 
before  a  rebel  horde.  You  should  face  the  situation  and 

1  A  classical  reference  to  Fu  Chien,  who  in  the  fourth  century  a.d. 
uttered  a  bombastic  boast  to  this  effect. 

176 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


yield  to  the  fortune  of  war.  Your  best  way  of  showing 
loyalty  to  your  late  master  and  devotion  to  the  Prince 
his  successor  is  to  advise  the  latter  to  renounce  his 
Imperial  title,  and,  as  Prince  of  the  Ming  blood  royal, 
continue  to  enjoy  our  perpetual  favour.  Our  dynasty 
proposes  to  assign  to  him  suitable  revenues  and  residence, 
and  will  treat  him  as  an  honoured  descendant  of  the  dis¬ 
possessed  dynasty.  I  undertake  that  the  highest  honours 
shall  be  lavished  upon  him  by  our  Imperial  bounty,  that 
precedence  shall  be  accorded  to  him  over  all  Princes  at 
our  Court,  and  that  his  posterity  shall  be  accorded  similar 
hereditary  privileges  until  the  Yellow  River  shrinks  to 
the  width  of  a  girdle  and  Mount  T’ai  to  the  size  of  a 
whetstone.  Our  dynasty  desires  to  be  faithful  to  the 
motive  which  inspired  us  in  subduing  the  rebels,  and  to  act 
in  harmony  with  the  spirit  which  saves  the  fallen  from 
destruction  and  renews  a  lineage  extinct. 

“  As  for  yourself  and  other  distinguished  worthies  of  the 
South,  if  you  will  repair  to  our  Court  and  do  obeisance 
before  the  Manchu  Throne  you  will  be  rewarded  with 
the  highest  hereditary  ranks  and  rich  fiefs.  Is  not  our 
treatment  of  Wu  San-kuei  an  earnest  of  our  good  inten¬ 
tions  towards  you  ? 

‘ 4  Only  let  Your  Excellency  consider  wherein  lies  the  way 
of  advantage.  Now-a-days,  many  scholars  and  statesmen 
are  apt  to  forget  their  duty  to  the  people  in  their  desire 
to  win  for  themselves  fame  as  men  of  unwavering  prin¬ 
ciples.  When  a  catastrophe  occurs  they  are  paralysed, 
and  resemble  the  man  who  sought  to  build  a  house  by 
asking  the  casual  advice  of  unknown  passers-by.  Re¬ 
member  the  example  of  the  Sung  dynasty,  whose  rulers 
were  busy  arguing  academic  points  even  when  the  Mongol 
invaders  had  crossed  the  Yangtsze  and  were  knocking 
at  the  gates  of  their  capital.  You,  Sir,  are  the  wisest  of 
your  contemporaries  and  must  know  full  well  in  what 
direction  the  dictates  of  prudence  should  lead  you. 
n  177 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


Rather  than  allow  yourself  to  be  carried  away  by  the 
current,  or  influenced  by  those  who  trim  their  sails  to  the 
passing  breeze,  surely  you  will  determine  on  a  consistent 
and  statesmanlike  course,  and  then  stick  to  it  without 
swerving  a  hair’s  breadth. 

“  Our  troops  are  ready  to  march  against  you  if  needs 
must  be;  everything  now  depends  on  your  decision.  I 
hope  that  you  will  share  my  desire  to  complete  the 
destruction  of  Li  Tzii-ch’eng,  and  that  you  will  not  cling 
stubbornly  to  the  fleeting  emoluments  which  you  now 
enjoy,  so  as  to  involve  your  old  dynasty  in  irretrievable 
disaster.  I  beseech  you  to  avoid  becoming  the  laughing¬ 
stock  of  rebels  and  traitors.  This  is  my  earnest  prayer. 
In  the  Book  of  Rites  it  is  written  :  ‘  Only  the  superior 
man  can  fully  appreciate  good  advice.’  Therefore  I  lay 
bare  my  inmost  heart  and  respectfully  await  your  decision. 
Across  the  Yangtsze’s  flood  I  turn  in  spirit  to  Your 
Excellency  and  entreat  your  early  reply.  There  is  still 
much  which  remains  unsaid.” 

To  this  dignified  appeal  Shill  K’o-fa  replied,  in  words  no 
less  eloquent,  as  follows  :  “  Shill  K’o-fa,  Commander-in- 
chief  of  the  great  Ming  dynasty,  President  of  the  Board 
of  War  and  a  Grand  Secretary  of  the  Eastern  Throne-hall, 
prostrating  himself  respectfully  before  Your  Highness,  the 
Regent  of  the  great  Manchu  dynasty,  has  the  honour  to 
reply  as  follows  :  On  receipt  of  your  valued  favour,  I  sent 
it  at  once  to  General  Wu  in  order  that  I  might  take  his 
opinion.  I  hesitated  to  indite  an  immediate  reply,  not 
because  I  failed  to  appreciate  your  kindness  in  writing 
to  me,  but  out  of  regard  for  the  principle  enunciated  in 
the  ‘  Spring  and  Autumn  ’  classic,  that  a  Minister  of  one 
State  ought  not  to  carry  on  secret  correspondence  with 
the  representative  of  another. 

“At  a  time  of  urgent  military  preparation  like  the  present, 
your  elegantly  worded  composition  is  indeed  a  godsend, 
and  I  have  perused  it  again  and  again,  full  of  admiration 

178 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


for  the  sentiments  which  it  conveys.  It  fills  me  with 
gratitude  and  at  the  same  time  with  shame  that  your 
great  nation  should  have  occasion  to  deplore  the  delays 
which  have  occurred  in  destroying  that  parricide  and  rebel, 
Li  Tzu-ch’eng.  But  I  desire  to  make  a  few  remarks 
regarding  your  lightly-uttered  statement  that  we,  officials 
and  people  of  the  great  Ming  dynasty,  are  forgetful  of 
the  outrages  inflicted  on  the  late  Emperor,  and  have  sinned 
against  his  memory  in  proclaiming  His  present  Majesty  at 
our  ‘  temporary  retreat,’  south  of  the  Yangtsze. 

“His  departed  Majesty  was  a  wise  and  just  ruler  who 
obeyed  Heaven  and  followed  the  behests  of  his  ancestors, 
in  constant  affection  for  his  subjects  and  in  the  faithful 
performance  of  his  duty.  The  disaster  of  the  19th  day 
of  the  3rd  Moon,  when  Peking  fell,  was  due  to  the  infatuate 
errors  of  his  Ministers,  and  I  was  too  far  away  at  my  post 
in  the  south  to  bring  up  reinforcements  to  his  succour. 
The  sorrowful  tidings  of  his  death  reached  me  at  my  camp 
on  the  Huai,  whilst  I  was  hurrying  north.  Heaven  was 
rent  and  the  earth  shaken  by  this  monstrous  catastrophe ; 
the  waves  of  the  sea  wept  in  unison,  and  the  trees  withered 
on  the  hills.  Breathes  there  the  man  who  does  not  love 
his  Sovereign  ?  Though  my  body  were  hacked  to  pieces 
in  the  market  place,  still,  because  of  this  disaster,  my  soul 
must  bear  its  heavy  burden  of  guilt,  and  never  can  I  dare 
to  look  His  late  Majesty  in  the  face  in  the  realms  below. 

“  The  grief  of  his  officials  and  people  in  the  South  was  like 
that  of  orphans  mourning  for  their  parents,  and  we  burned 
to  avenge  our  Emperor  by  drawing  sword  against  the 
traitor  who  had  caused  his  death.  But  it  seemed  good 
to  our  eldest  and  wisest  statesman  to  place  a  new  Emperor 
on  the  Throne,  not  only  for  the  sake  of  the  ancestral 
shrines  and  the  tutelary  deities,  but  to  satisfy  the  desire 
of  the  nation.  His  present  Majesty  is  the  grandson  of 
Wan  Li,  the  nephew  of  that  Monarch’s  successor,  and  cousin 
to  His  late  Majesty.  He  is  of  the  direct  line,  his  accession 

179 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


is  meet  and  proper,  and  he  has  found  favour  with  Heaven 
and  with  his  people.  When  he  entered  Nanking,  on  the 
1st  of  the  5th  Moon,  his  subjects  lined  the  roads  and 
welcomed  the  Imperial  chariot  with  thunderous  acclaim. 
His  Ministers  besought  him  to  mount  the  Imperial  Throne, 
but  he  hesitated  at  first  to  comply,  and  assumed  the  title 
of  Regent.  It  was  only  in  response  to  repeated  petitions 
from  his  subjects  that  at  last  he  declared  himself  Emperor. 
On  that  eventful  day  nature  wore  a  garb  of  joy,  and 
prestiges  were  not  wanting  of  an  auspicious  reign.  As  the 
smoke  of  the  incense  ascended  to  Heaven  at  the  ancestral 
sacrifice  the  worshippers  felt  that  the  Almighty  had 
vouchsafed  His  approval. 

“  A  few  days  after  His  Majesty’s  accession  he  bade  me 
take  up  my  command  North  of  the  Yangtsze  and  prepare 
to  march  against  Li  Tzu-ch’eng.  It  was  then  that  the 
tidings  reached  us  that  our  Generalissimo,  Wu  San-kuei, 
had  borrowed  aid  from  your  great  nation,  and  that  the 
rebel  host  had  been  completely  routed.  We  learned  that 
you  had  given  fitting  burial  to  the  remains  of  Their 
Majesties,  and  that  you  had  purged  the  Palace  of  the 
polluting  presence  of  the  usurper.  By  pacifying  the 
people’s  alarms  and  by  cancelling  the  edict  which  had 
enjoined  the  shaving  of  the  head  1  you  showed  a  respect 
for  our  dynastic  usages,  and  your  generosity  will  be  en¬ 
shrined  for  all  time  in  our  history.  Not  a  subject  of  the 
great  Ming  dynasty  but  kneels  in  gratitude,  rendering 
willing  obeisance  from  a  full  heart  for  this  kind  deed. 
Surely  your  letter  errs  grievously  when  you  remind  us  of 
our  duty  4  to  cherish  gratitude,  and  thus  to  repay  your 
benevolence.’ 

“  So  little  do  we  need  this  reminder  that  on  the  8th  Moon 
of  this  year  I  dispatched  an  envoy  bearing  a  number  of 
trifling  gifts  to  be  distributed  as  largesse  to  your  victorious 
forces,  and  I  directed  him  to  submit  to  you  proposals  for 
1  This  cancellation  was  only  temporary. 

180 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


a  joint  expedition  westward  against  the  rebels.  I  waited 
with  my  troops  on  the  banks  of  the  River  Huai,  solely 
because  I  wished  to  learn  your  intentions  in  the 
matter. 

“  The  letter  which  I  have  had  the  honour  to  receive 
takes  me  to  task  for  violating  the  principles  laid  down  by 
Confucius  concerning  succession  to  the  Throne.  I  admire 
the  aptness  of  your  allusion,  but  Confucius  was  only 
referring  to  the  deaths  of  feudal  Princes  who  had  perished 
by  assassination.  In  such  cases  it  was  deemed  unseemly 
for  the  son  and  successor  to  announce  his  accession,  either 
to  his  suzerain  or  to  his  fellow  Princes,  until  his  father’s 
murder  had  been  avenged.  But  the  Sage  never  meant 
this  to  apply  to  a  case  in  which  the  Sovereign  Lord  of  the 
whole  Empire  had  committed  suicide  for  the  sake  of  the 
altars  of  his  gods,  his  family  having  already  come  to  a 
cruel  end.  In  such  a  case,  slavish  adherence  to  the  letter 
of  the  principle  in  question  would  show  callous  indifference 
to  the  interests  of  the  Empire  as  a  whole,  and  would 
assuredly  plunge  our  ancient  State  in  the  horrors  of  anarchy 
and  civil  war.  For  a  supreme  ruler  is  needed  to  inspire 
the  nation  with  courage  and  patriotism;  without  one 
no  national  spirit  could  exist,  nor  could  the  army  be 
rallied  to  fresh  efforts.  Historical  instances  of  the  truth 
of  this  will  readily  occur  to  Your  Highness ;  I  need  scarcely 
quote  them  here.  When  the  Sung  Emperor  Ch’en  Tsung 
(a.d.  1126)  was  carried  into  captivity  by  the  Chen  Tartars, 
together  with  his  father,  the  ex-Emperor,  his  brother  was 
at  once  elected  to  the  Throne,  because  it  was  felt  that  it 
could  not  safely  stand  empty  for  a  single  day.  History 
has  approved  of  this  principle,  and  has  recognised 
that  in  no  other  way  can  the  fortunes  of  the  State  be 
preserved. 

“  The  sixteen  Emperors  of  our  Ming  dynasty  have, 
each  in  his  turn,  exercised  a  civilising  influence,  and  have 
enabled  the  remotest  nations  to  benefit  by  their  self- 

181 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


sacrificing  magnanimity.  They  have  restored  princedoms 
and  treated  their  vassals  with  unfailing  generosity.  You 
Manchus,  who  have  for  generations  figured  on  the  roll  of 
our  feudatories,  can  scarcely  fail  to  be  aware  of  these  facts, 
since  you,  too,  have  been  nurtured  by  our  Throne’s  wide- 
embracing  and  enfolding  protection.  The  fact  that  our 
two  nations  had  been  at  enmity  for  a  generation  was 
brought  about  by  wicked  plotters,  whom  His  late  Majesty 
visited  with  condign  punishment. 

“  You  may  well  be  proud  of  your  action  in  hastening  so 
loyally  to  suppress  the  rebel  invasion,  and  in  coming  to  the 
rescue  of  our  dynasty.  It  has  been  worthy  of  the  prin¬ 
ciples  of  Confucius,  and  deserves  to  be  remembered  for  all 
time. 

“  In  olden  days,  when  the  Ketans  made  peace  with  the 
Sungs,  annual  gifts  of  gold  and  silks  were  sent  by  the 
latter,  but  that  did  not  mean  that  the  Ketans  acquired 
any  territorial  advantages  from  the  Sungs.  How  much 
more,  then,  should  this  be  the  case  with  your  great  nation, 
which  has  loudly  proclaimed  its  altruistic  intentions,  and 
which  has  moved  with  troops  to  our  succour  simply  and 
solely  (for  so  you  have  assured  us)  out  of  regard  for  the 
friendly  feeling  existing  between  our  States  from  time 
immemorial. 

“  If  now,  taking  advantage  of  our  misfortunes,  you  covet 
our  territory  and  hope  to  benefit  yourselves  by  annexing 
portions  of  our  dominions,  you  will  be  open  to  the  reproach 
that  your  good  intentions  were  but  transient,  and  that 
your  actions,  which  began  in  good  feeling,  have  ended  in 
unrighteous  cupidity.  Then  may  the  rebels  even  despise 
you,  as  being  no  better  than  themselves  !  I  am  reluctant 
to  believe  this  of  you  Manchus. 

“  His  late  Majesty  was  far  too  tender-hearted  in  dealing 
with  the  rebellion;  he  could  not  bear  to  employ  drastic 
methods  in  suppressing  it.  It  is  because  of  his  adoption 
of  this  lenient  policy  that  the  Mings  have  been  brought 

182 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


to  their  present  evil  pass.  The  present  Emperor’s  one 
thought  is  to  avenge  the  wrongs  of  his  predecessor,  and  all 
our  statesmen  are  of  the  same  mind,  while  thousands  of 
volunteers  have  rallied  to  the  flag,  burning  to  wipe  out 
this  national  disgrace. 

“It  is  my  confident  hope  that  ‘  Prince  Harrier’s  ’  tether 
is  a  short  one.  The  proverb  says  :  ‘  Let  your  good 

actions  breed  successors,  but  pull  up  evil  by  the  root.’ 
At  this  moment,  however,  the  traitor  has  escaped  to  his 
Shensi  lair  and  still  awaits  Heaven-sent  retribution.  Nay, 
my  spies  tell  me  that  he  still  hopes  to  regain  the  territory 
he  has  lost,  and  is  even  now  preparing  to  strike  a  fresh  blow. 
This  is  not  only  a  disgrace  to  our  dynasty,  but  is  scarcely 
calculated  to  give  your  nation  satisfaction,  since  your 
efforts  have  only  met  with  partial  success. 

“  I  beg,  therefore,  that  you  will  now  complete  what  you 
have  so  well  begun,  and  arrange  with  us  plans  for  a  joint 
punitive  campaign  into  Shensi,  where  we  may  have  the 
joy  of  seeing  the  traitor’s  head  roll  in  the  dust.  In  this 
way  you  Manchus  will  have  set  the  crowning  achieve¬ 
ment  on  your  glorious  work,  and  we  shall  do  what  in  us 
lies  to  reward  you.  Hereafter,  our  two  nations  shall 
dwell  together  as  neighbours,  in  perpetual  amity.  How 
splendid  to  think  that  peace  can  never  again  be  broken 
between  Chinese  and  Manchu ! 

“  Our  dynasty’s  ambassador  is  now  on  his  way,  and  should 
soon  reach  Peking,  where  the  terms  of  a  treaty  may  be 
negotiated  at  leisure.  Looking  northward  towards  the 
mausolea  of  our  mighty  ancestors  my  eyes  can  weep  no 
more,  for  lack  of  tears,  and  I  feel  that  I  deserve  to  die  the 
death.  My  only  reason  for  not  following  my  late  master 
to  the  other  world  was  that  I  still  hoped  to  render  some 
service  to  the  State.  It  is  written  :  ‘  Strain  every  energy 
for  your  country  whilst  life  lasts;  be  loyal  and  fear  not.’ 
My  one  desire  is  to  be  privileged  to  lose  my  life  in  the 
performance  of  my  duty.  May  this  aspiration  be  fulfilled. 

183 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


I  would  beg  Your  Highness  to  be  pleased  to  peruse  the 
above.  Hung  Kuang,1  9th  Moon,  15th  day. 

“  Postscriptum. — If  I  do  not  hear  from  you,  I  intend  to 
cross  the  Huai  with  my  whole  force  and  expel  the  rebel 
horde  of  dogs  and  rats  from  their  lairs,  that  the  glories 
of  old  may  be  restored  to  our  Empire,  and  that  the  benefits 
bestowed  upon  me  by  His  late  Majesty,  now  in  Heaven, 
may  in  some  measure  be  requited.  Finally,  I  would 
observe  that  it  is  unseemly  for  the  Minister  of  one  State 
to  have  private  intercourse  with  the  ruler  of  another,  and 
I  treat  with  the  contempt  of  silence  your  ignoble  endeavour 
to  lure  me  with  promises  of  rewards  and  dignities.” 

This  correspondence  between  the  Manchu  Regent  and 
the  loyalist  General  is  cited  to  this  day  by  Chinese  scholars 
as  a  model  of  the  best  classical  traditions ;  even  for  those 
who  read  it  in  another  language  it  carries  conviction  and 
an  irresistible  appeal,  telling  its  own  story  of  the  dignity 
and  wisdom  which  underlie  the  weather-beaten  but  un¬ 
conquered  philosophy  of  China’s  Sages. 

But  for  the  humanitarian,  admiration  of  this  stoic 
philosophy  halts  before  its  consequences,  as  we  see  them 
reflected  in  the  unspeakable  misery  of  the  masses.  The 
Regent’s  shrewd  indictment  of  Shih  K’o-fa’s  attitude  was 
justified  by  every  humane  instinct,  when  he  said  that 
“  scholars  and  statesmen  were  apt  to  forget  their  duty 
to  the  people  in  their  desire  to  win  for  themselves  fame 
as  men  of  unswerving  principles.”  Both  he  and  Shih 
K’o-fa  were  sincerely  anxious  for  peace,  anxious  to  avert 
from  the  innocent  community  of  toilers  the  awful  calam¬ 
ities  of  war;  but  neither  was  prepared  to  buy  immunity 
for  the  people  by  the  surrender  of  his  own  rigid  principles. 
Let  us  turn  now  from  the  arguments  of  the  leaders  to 
contemplate  the  consequences  of  their  differences  as 
reflected  in  the  lives  and  deaths  of  the  “  stupid  people.” 

1  The  Ming  dynastic  title  of  the  new  Emperor,  “  Distinguished 
Glory.” 


184 


CHAPTER  VII 


THE  SACK  OF  YANG  CHOU-FU 

The  history  of  China,  ancient  and  modern,  is  a  series 
of  paroxysms ;  its  keynote  is  bloodshed  and  famine, 
periods  of  peace  and  prosperity  purchased  by  the  slaughter 
of  countless  innocents.  Its  splendid  civilisation,  based 
on  an  unassailable  moral  philosophy  and  the  canons  of 
the  Sages,  has  ever  proved  powerless  against  the  inexorable 
laws  of  nature,  against  the  pitiless  cruelty  of  the  struggle 
for  life,  intensified  by  a  social  system  which  inculcates 
procreative  recklessness  and  passive  fatalism.  Under 
Mongols,  Mings  and  Manchus  the  stern  retributive  law 
and  its  fulfilment  have  ever  been  the  same,  history  always 
repeating  itself,  at  the  passing  of  dynasties,  with  fearful 
monotony  of  wholesale  massacres. 

The  following  narrative  of  the  sack  of  Yang  Chou-fu 
by  the  Manchus  in  1645  was  written  by  one  (his  name  is 
unknown)  who  was  himself  a  victim  and  an  eye-witness 
of  those  fearful  days  of  slaughter,  and  of  events  which  may 
be  taken  as  normal  at  times  of  conquest  and  civil  strife 
in  Far  Eastern  lands.  The  blood  lust  of  the  victorious 
Manchus  was  no  more  fierce  than  that  of  the  Mongols 
before  them,  or,  for  that  matter,  of  the  Chinese  of  to-day. 
Throughout  all  the  recorded  history  of  the  Empire,  these 
ruthless  massacres  of  non-combatants  have  been  an 
accepted  feature  of  the  sorry  scheme  of  things ;  a  deliber¬ 
ate,  cold-blooded,  almost  instinctive  fulfilment  of  the 
law  which  prescribes  the  survival  of  the  fittest,  amongst 
a  people  with  whom  the  problem  of  daily  bread  is  ever 
insistently  insoluble.  Compared  with  the  most  merciless 

185 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


butcheries  of  ancient  and  modern  times  in  Europe,  with 
the  worst  excesses  of  “  Kirke’s  lambs  ”  or  Alva’s  butchers, 
the  slaughter  of  Orientals  by  Orientals  lacks  the  factors 
of  religious  and  political  hatred  which  often  explain 
the  extermination  of  whole  communities.  Yet  another 
feature,  common  to  these  pitiful  records  of  Chinese  cities 
left  desolate,  is  the  complete  lack  of  resistance  on  the  part 
of  their  inhabitants — a  few  thousands  of  savage  soldiery 
let  loose,  without  discipline  or  military  cohesion,  upon  a 
walled  city  of  a  million  inhabitants,  will  convert  it  almost 
methodically  into  a  shambles,  their  terror-stricken  victims 
awaiting  death  with  abject  helplessness. 

Yang  Chou-fu,  on  the  Grand  Canal  in  Kiangsu,  has 
always  been  an  important  city.  Strategically,  before  the 
days  of  railways,  it  was  the  gate  of  the  southern  capital, 
Nanking,  for  invaders  from  the  north.1  Its  ancient  walls 
are  some  four  miles  in  circumference,  and  in  olden  days, 
when  the  Grand  Canal  was  the  great  artery  of  trade 
between  the  Yangtsze  and  North  China,  it  boasted  great 
wealth  and  a  large  population.  Before  the  Manchu 
invasion,  it  had  suffered,  as  all  Central  China  had  suffered, 
from  the  disorders  of  Li  Tzu-ch’eng’s  rebellion  and  the 
general  unrest  brought  about  by  the  chaotic  condition 
of  affairs  in  Peking;  but  until  1644  the  tide  of  civil  war 
had  flowed  northwards,  and  though  the  cities  of  the  plain 
had  paid  for  it  in  silver,  there  had  been  but  little  bloodshed 
in  their  streets.  After  the  fall  of  Peking  and  the  collapse 
of  the  Mings  before  the  rebel  forces  of  Li  Tzu-ch’eng, 
came  the  swift  turning  of  the  tide;  Li’s  great  army, 
routed  by  Wu  San-kuei  and  the  Manchus,  fled  southwards 
and  west,  while  the  fugitive  Mings  established  their  Court 
at  Nanking,  and  gathered  together  their  shattered  forces 
to  prevent  the  Manchus  crossing  the  Yangtsze. 

In  1644,  when  the  Manchu  armies  began  their  invasion 

1  In  1282  Kublai  Khan  conferred  upon  Marco  Polo  the  governorship 
of  the  city. 


186 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


and  subjugation  of  the  South,  the  population  of  Yang 
Chou-fu  was  estimated  at  over  a  million.  Lying  on  the 
direct  route  of  the  invaders  to  Nanking,  it  was  held  for 
the  Mings  by  their  ablest  General,  Shih  K’o-fa,  and  gar¬ 
risoned  with  an  army  of  about  40,000  men.  If  Prince 
Fu,  heir  to  the  throne  of  the  Mings,  had  not  been  hopelessly 
dissolute  and  incapable,  if  he  and  his  advisers  at  the  Court 
of  Nanking  had  given  General  Shih  the  loyal  support  he 
deserved,  the  Manchus  would  probably  never  have  reached 
the  Yangtsze.  But  (as  we  have  shown  elsewhere)  the 
Court  was  wholly  engrossed  in  licentious  pleasures,  its 
scanty  revenues  wasted  in  wine-bibbing  and  play  acting, 
its  forces  in  the  field  unprovided  with  the  necessaries 
of  life  and  materials  of  war.  Shih  K’o-fa  had  been  obliged 
to  detach  part  of  the  garrison  of  Yang  Chou-fu  at  a  most 
critical  moment  to  protect  a  store  of  ammunition  and 
equipment,  which  he  had  been  compelled  to  leave  behind 
him  on  his  forced  march  from  Soochow.  Even  so,  he 
might  have  destroyed  the  army  of  the  invaders  before 
the  investment  of  the  city,  had  he  been  willing  to  cut  the 
banks  of  the  Huai  River  and  flood  the  country.  But  Shih 
was  a  scholar  and  a  humane  man,  and  preferred  the  risks 
of  war  to  the  infliction  of  enduring  misery  on  vast  numbers 
of  his  fellow  countrymen.  He  might  have  saved  himself, 
his  army  and  the  city  had  he  been  willing  to  entertain 
the  advances  made  to  him  by  the  Manchu  Regent  and 
forsake  the  cause  of  the  Mings.  But  hoping  against  hope 
for  reinforcements  and  final  victory  he  remained  at  his 
post,  and  met  with  a  dignified  refusal  the  Regent’s  offers 
to  confer  wealth  and  honour  upon  him  as  the  price  of 
disloyalty.  He  took  a  terrible  responsibility,  and  he  paid 
the  price  of  high  failure,  and  with  him  more  than  half 
a  million  men,  women  and  children,  “  went  to  their  graves 
like  beds.” 

The  diary  from  which  the  following  narrative  is  taken 
is  dated  the  4th  Moon  of  the  “  Yi  Yu  ”  year  (1645)  : 

187 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


“  On  the  14th  day  of  the  Yi  Yu  year  it  was  reported 
to  General  Shih  K’o-fa,  the  Commander-in-chief,  by 
his  staff,  that  Yang  Ho  (on  the  Huai  River)  had  fallen,  and 
our  garrison  prepared  for  a  siege.  Soldiers  were  quartered 
in  every  house;  a  certain  Colonel  Yang  and  his  men  were 
billeted  on  me.  Their  discipline  was  very  bad;  we  had 
to  supply  them  with  everything,  and  their  keep  cost  us 
several  strings  of  cash  per  day.  As  their  demands  became 
ever  more  importunate,  I  invited  Colonel  Yang  to  a 
banquet,  and  seized  the  opportunity  to  beg  him  to  keep 
his  men  in  better  order.  After  this  we  were  somewhat 
less  disturbed.  The  Colonel  enjoyed  listening  to  the  flute, 
and  we  called  in  some  singing-girls  to  entertain  his  men. 

“  There  was  fierce  fighting  on  the  walls  and  around  the 
city  for  ten  days  and  nights,1  and  we  all  hoped  that  the 
garrison  would  repel  the  enemy.  But  one  evening,  while 
we  were  having  quite  a  lively  party  at  our  house,  orders 
from  the  Commander-in-chief  were  suddenly  brought  to 
Colonel  Yang.  He  read  the  note,  turned  deathly  pale 
and  hurried  out  on  to  the  city  wall.  Our  party  broke  up, 
every  one  wondering  what  evil  tidings  were  in  store  for  us. 
Next  morning  all  the  walls  of  the  city  were  placarded  with 
a  proclamation  from  General  Shih  K’o-fa,  saying :  ‘  I 
alone  will  bear  the  brunt;  none  of  you  blameless  people 
shall  pay  the  penalty.’ 

“  I  felt  quite  reassured  and  touched  by  these  good  words. 
Later  in  the  day  every  one’s  spirits  rose,  for  news  came 
in  that  our  men  had  been  victorious  in  a  heavy  skirmish 
outside  the  city.  That  afternoon  my  married  cousin 
came  in  from  Kua-chou  in  order  to  escape  from  the  law¬ 
lessness  of  General  Li’s  dispersed  troops.  My  wife  was 
delighted  to  see  her,  and  the  two  women  were  chatting 
away,  when  suddenly  rumours  began  to  circulate  that  the 
Manchus  were  in  the  city.  I  made  immediate  inquiries, 
and  at  first  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  troops  who  had 
1  Other  chronicles  say  that  the  siege  lasted  seven  days. 

188 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


come  in  were  those  of  the  Marquis  Huang  Te-kung,  our 
own  General,  the  more  so  as  our  guards  on  the  city  wall 
showed  no  signs  of  panic.  On  reaching  the  main  street, 
however,  I  met  crowds  of  men,  women  and  children, 
many  of  them  barefooted  and  half  naked,  all  rushing 
wildly  along.  To  my  inquiries  they  could  make  no  clear 
replies,  all  muttering  and  gibbering  incoherently.  Next 
I  observed  a  small  party  of  horsemen  desperately  galloping 
towards  the  South  Gate  of  the  city.  They  passed  like  a 
torrent  in  flood,  but  I  had  time  to  notice  that  the  person 
they  were  escorting  was  none  other  than  General  Shih 
K’o-fa  himself.  They  had  tried  to  leave  by  the  East 
Gate,  but  finding  that  the  Manchus  held  it  already  outside, 
were  hoping  to  escape  by  the  South.  The  General  was 
wounded,1  and  had  been  forced  to  leave  by  his  bodyguard. 

“  Next  I  saw  another  of  the  Ming  Generals  riding 
northwards,  evidently  intending  to  surrender  to  the  enemy. 
His  face  wore  a  look  of  misery  such  as  I  never  wish  to 
behold  again.  By  this  time  the  troops  on  the  wall 
had  begun  to  throw  away  their  weapons  and  were  tearing 
off  the  badges  from  their  uniforms.  Many  of  them  were 
severely  hurt  in  the  crush  and  confusion  as  they  rushed 
from  the  wall;  soon  the  section  adjoining  my  house  was 
quite  deserted.  General  Shih  had  erected  gun-platforms 
on  a  level  with  the  wall,  because  it  was  too  narrow  for 
artillery  purposes;  these  platforms  were  reached  from 
the  roofs  below  by  a  sloping  gangway  of  planks  lashed 
together.  The  Manchus  gained  the  wall  near  the  North 
Gate,  and  came  rushing  along  it,  sword  in  hand,  driving 
our  men  before  them.  On  reaching  the  gun-platform 
adjoining  my  house,  crowds  of  them,  pursuers  and  pursued, 
came  down  it  helter-skelter ;  the  gangway  collapsed 
beneath  them,  and  a  score  or  more  were  killed.  Those  who 
succeeded  in  reaching  the  roofs  engaged  in  fierce  hand- 
to-hand  fighting,  making  a  din  most  terrifying  to  the 

1  Vide  supra,  p.  173. 

189 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


occupants  of  the  house,  cowering  in  the  rooms  beneath. 
My  courtyard  was  filled  with  routed  soldiery  and  panic- 
stricken  refugees,  who  listened  in  terror  to  the  fierce  yells 
of  the  Manchus.  I  had  no  means  of  preventing  these 
fugitives  from  entering  my  premises ;  even  the  women’s 
quarters  were  full  of  them.  From  a  window  at  the  back 
of  my  house  I  observed  a  body  of  troops  marching  towards 
the  south-west  of  the  city.  They  seemed  well  disciplined, 
and  at  first  I  hoped  they  were  some  of  our  own  men. 
At  this  moment  there  came  a  sound  of  knocking  at  my 
gate.  A  few  neighbours  had  come  to  suggest  that  we 
should  join  them  in  preparing  a  welcome  to  the  Mancliu 
invaders,  and  that  we  should  burn  incense  in  token  of 
allegiance  to  our  new  Emperor.  As  matters  stood  I 
dared  not  refuse  to  join  in  these  preparations,  so  hurriedly 
we  put  on  our  ceremonial  robes  and  shaved  our  heads  in 
the  Manchu  fashion.  This  done,  we  waited  a  long  while, 
but  no  Manchu  Prince  put  in  an  appearance.  The  fight 
in  my  courtyard  was  now  over,  and  about  a  dozen  soldiers 
lay  dead  upon  the  ground.  The  Manchus  had  passed  on 
to  other  parts  of  the  city. 

“  As  I  looked  out  from  my  window  I  saw  a  few  soldiers 
coming  and  going;  in  a  little  while  there  came  a  troop 
of  them  escorting  a  bevy  of  gaudily  clad  women — women 
belonging  to  this  city,  of  evil  repute.  At  the  spectacle 
a  sudden  thought  struck  me,  and  I  went  to  my  women-folk 
and  said  :  ‘  The  city  has  fallen ;  you  must  be  ready 
to  commit  suicide  and  thus  escape  outrage.’  All  the 
women  agreed,  and  handed  me  their  ornaments  and  their 
money,  saying  :  ‘  Keep  them ;  we  don’t  expect  to  live 
more  than  a  few  hours  at  most.’ 

“  Next  I  saw  a  small  party  of  horsemen  riding  slowly 
from  the  North;  every  person  whom  they  met  they 
stopped,  demanding  money.  These  men  were  not  extrava¬ 
gant  in  their  demands,  and  if  they  were  refused  they  would 
prod  their  captive  with  swords,  but  not  so  as  to  hurt  him 

190 


Kung  Shun,  a  Mandarin  of  the  Han  Dynasty. 

(From  a  painting  by  Wu  Tao-tzu  [eighth  century],  in  the  collection  of  Charles  L.  Freer,  Esq.,  at  Detroit. 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


seriously.  (I  heard  afterwards  that  a  Yang-chou  man  had 
treacherously  conducted  this  party  to  the  house  of  a 
rich  merchant,  who  had  paid  ten  thousand  taels  as  ransom, 
but  had  nevertheless  been  murdered.) 

“  When  they  came  near  to  my  house  one  of  the  horsemen 
pointed  to  me  (I  had  come  out  and  was  standing  in  the 
court) ;  ‘  Search  that  fellow  in  the  blue  gown,’  he 

shouted  to  one  of  his  comrades,  who  at  once  dismounted ; 
but  I  was  too  quick  for  him  and  rushed  inside.  The  men 
rode  away  laughing.  I  wondered  why  they  should  wish 
to  search  me,  as  I  was  clad  in  the  garments  of  a  rustic. 
At  this  moment  my  two  brothers  came  up  and,  discussing 
the  point,  we  concluded  that,  as  this  part  of  the  city  was 
chiefly  inhabited  by  wealthy  merchants,  they  had  suspected 
my  disguise.  I  therefore  decided  to  remove  all  the  family 
from  my  house  and  take  refuge  in  that  of  my  second  eldest 
brother.  My  two  brothers  and  the  women  all  made  their 
way  thither  by  unfrequented  alleys.  Just  at  the  back  of 
my  brother’s  house  were  some  of  the  slums  of  the  city, 
a  quarter  known  as  the  ‘  Graveyard  of  the  Ho  family.’ 
Meantime,  I  remained  behind  in  my  own  house  to  see  what 
would  happen.  All  of  a  sudden  my  eldest  brother  came 
running  back  to  tell  me  that  the  main  street  was  running 
with  blood,  and  that  if  I  stayed  where  I  was  I  should 
surely  be  murdered.  ‘Come  with  us;  we  can  at  least 
all  die  together  in  our  brother’s  house.’  At  that,  I  took 
the  ancestral  tablets  from  their  shrine  and  went  with  my 
brother.  We  were  all  together  in  his  house,  a  party  of  ten ; 
four  of  us  brothers  (two  older  and  one  younger  than  myself), 
my  wife  and  little  son,  my  sister-in-law,  my  nephew  and 
my  wife’s  brother  and  sister. 

“  As  evening  drew  on  we  could  hear  more  and  more 
clearly  the  shouts  of  the  Manchus  at  their  hellish  work  of 
butchery.  It  was  pouring  with  rain,  but  that  did  not  stop 
them.  Hoping  to  escape  detection  wc  all  lay  out  on 
the  flat  roof  of  an  outhouse  under  the  heavy  rain,  covered 

191 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


with  a  large  felt  plaid,  which  soon  became  soaked.  The 
death-cries  of  wounded  and  dying  men,  of  women  and 
children,  rang  in  our  ears  and  made  our  blood  run  cold. 
Not  till  midnight  did  we  dare  to  come  from  our  hiding- 
place  and  make  for  the  kitchen,  where  we  managed  to  kindle 
a  fire  and  boil  a  little  rice.  By  this  time  flames  were 
bursting  out  all  over  the  city ;  several  of  our  neighbours’ 
houses  had  been  burnt  to  the  ground;  the  total  number 
thus  destroyed  must  have  run  into  thousands.  The  night 
was  as  light  as  day;  the  tumult  and  the  shouting  were 
incessant.  Every  now  and  then  we  could  hear  curses 
in  Manchu,  blended  with  some  woman’s  frantic  appeal 
for  mercy.  We  tried  to  eat,  but  our  chopsticks  refused 
to  carry  the  food  to  our  mouths.  We  could  think  of  no 
way  of  escape ;  my  wife  took  some  ingots  of  silver  and 
divided  them  amongst  us  four  brothers.  We  hid  them  in 
our  top-knots,  in  our  boots  and  loin-cloths.  My  wife  also 
found  for  me  an  old  robe  and  a  pair  of  frayed  shoes, 
which  she  bade  me  wear. 

“  All  night  we  sat  desperate,  awaiting  the  end,  and  dared 
not  close  our  eyes.  A  bird  in  the  room  sang  without 
ceasing;  its  notes  sounded  like  a  clarion.  Close  at  hand 
I  heard  a  child  sobbing,  but  could  not  locate  it.  As  dawn 
broke,  the  conflagrations  seemed  to  die  down.  I  mounted 
a  ladder  and  concealed  myself  in  the  loft.  'We  all  crouched 
on  some  boards  by  the  ceiling,  when  suddenly,  from  the 
eastern  side,  a  man’s  head  appeared.  He  climbed  in 
by  one  ladder  and  rushed  down  another,  but  the  Manchu 
trooper  who  followed  him,  paused  when  he  saw  us  and  gave 
over  his  pursuit,  coming  towards  me  instead.  In  my 
terror  I  too  rushed  down  the  ladder  and  out  into  the  street, 
followed  by  my  two  brothers.  We  ran  at  least  a  hundred 
yards,  but  stopped  on  finding  we  were  not  being  pursued. 
For  the  time  being  I  lost  sight  of  my  wife,  and  knew  not 
whether  she  lived  or  died. 

“  The  cruel  soldiery,  to  save  themselves  the  trouble 

192 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


of  hunting  for  their  victims,  posted  notices  telling  the 
people  that  if  they  surrendered  they  would  be  given  badges 
guaranteeing  them  their  lives,  but  if  they  hid  themselves 
and  were  caught  they  would  be  killed.  Many  people 
gave  themselves  up  in  consequence.  As  my  brother  and 
I  were  standing  in  the  street  we  saw  a  group  of  fifty  or 
sixty  persons,  half  of  them  women,  a  little  further  on, 
and  my  brother  said  :  ‘  If  we  hide  and  are  discovered  we 
shall  certainly  be  killed.  We  are  only  four  helpless  men, 
so  we  had  better  surrender  and  join  that  group  over  there. 
By  so  doing  we  may  possibly  find  a  means  of  escape,  and 
if  not,  at  least  we  shall  have  the  satisfaction  of  perishing 
in  a  general  massacre.’ 

“  I  was  far  too  terrified  to  suggest  any  better  course, 
so  we  went  and  joined  the  group,  expecting  to  receive  our 
badges  of  safety.  The  Manchus  searched  my  brothers 
and  took  away  all  their  money,  but  oddly  enough  they 
left  me  alone.  At  this  moment  some  women  came  up, 
and  one  of  them  spoke  to  me.  I  recognised  her  at  once ; 
the  second  concubine  of  my  old  friend  Chu  Shu,  but  I 
begged  her  not  to  draw  attention  to  me.  She  was  in  a 
pitiable  condition,  her  hair  all  dishevelled,  her  breasts 
exposed,  and  her  legs  besmeared  to  the  knees  with  mud. 
Another  concubine  had  a  girl  baby  in  arms,  but  the  troops 
first  flogged  her  and  then  threw  her  down  in  the  mud. 
Then  some  more  soldiers  came  forward,  collected  the  women 
and  began  tying  them  together  at  the  knees,  like  a  string 
of  pearls.  We  were  then  marched  off  in  a  body,  one  man 
with  a  sword  leading  the  way  and  another  on  either  side 
to  prevent  any  one  escaping,  just  as  if  they  were  driving 
sheep  to  market.  At  every  step  we  took  we  saw  dead 
bodies  lying  in  agonised  attitudes,  babies  who  had  been 
crushed  to  shapelessness  beneath  the  hoofs  of  horses, 
women  with  their  new-born  babes  by  the  roadside  all 
beaten  to  a  pulp.  The  streets  reeked  like  a  shambles, 
here  and  there  one  heard  the  groans  of  a  few  dying 
o  193 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


wretches.  Arms  and  legs  protruded  from  every  ditch, 
inextricably  mingled. 

“  We  were  taken  to  the  house  of  Colonel  Yao  Yung-yen, 
entering  it  by  the  back  door.  Every  room  that  I  saw  was 
full  of  corpses,  and  I  said  to  myself  that  mine  would  surely 
be  added  to  their  number.  However,  there  were  no  Manchu 
butchers  at  work  there  for  the  time  being,  and  after  passing 
through  several  courtyards  we  were  brought  out  through 
the  front  of  the  building.  Thence  we  were  led  to  the  house 
of  a  Shansi  merchant,  one  Ch’iao  Cheng-wang,  the  head¬ 
quarters  of  the  men  who  were  our  captors.  As  we  entered 
I  noticed  a  soldier  mounting  guard  over  three  comely 
females.  The  floor  was  strewn  deep  with  valuable  silks 
and  furs.  Our  three  guards  laughed  loudly  at  the  sight 
and  then  drove  us,  a  party  of  fifty,  into  the  back  room, 
while  they  placed  the  women  in  an  inner  apartment. 
In  the  room  into  which  we  were  driven  three  seamstresses 
were  sitting  at  work.  One  of  them  was  about  thirty-five, 
and  very  smartly  dressed.  She  was  a  native  of  Yang-chou, 
and  seemed  perfectly  happy,  chaffing  the  soldiers  merrily. 
Her  behaviour  was  wanton  in  the  extreme ;  as  I  watched 
her  making  eyes  at  the  men  I  heard  one  of  the  Manchus 
say  :  4  During  the  Korean  campaign  hardly  a  woman 
bought  her  life  at  the  price  of  her  virtue.  Who  would 
have  believed  that  the  inhabitants  of  this  great  Empire  of 
China  could  be  as  shameless  as  this  wench?  ’ 

“  Then  the  soldiers  began  undressing  the  women  who 
had  accompanied  us;  they  stripped  them  of  their  wet 
apparel  and  made  them  stand  up  stark  naked  before  us 
all.  The  seamstress  was  called  in  and  told  to  measure 
them  for  fresh  clothes.  The  women  were  too  much  afraid 
of  the  soldiers  to  attempt  to  hide  their  nakedness  with 
their  hands.  When  they  had  all  been  dressed  in  new 
clothes  they  were  supplied  with  meat  and  drink,  and  the 
soldiers  began  making  love  to  them.  Most  of  them  yielded 
readily  enough  to  the  solicitations  of  their  captors. 

194 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


“  Next  one  of  the  Manchus  began  brandishing  his 
sword  and  shouted  :  ‘  Come  here,  you  Chinese  savages.’ 
They  then  bound  all  of  us  who  were  in  the  front  row  with 
cords,  including  my  eldest  brother.  My  second  brother 
called  out  to  me  :  ‘  It’s  all  up  with  us ;  what’s  the  use 
of  talking  ?  ’  He  seized  my  hand  and  led  me  forward ; 
my  younger  brother  followed.  We  were  bound,  some 
fifty  of  us  in  all,  and  the  Manchus  led  us  out  into  the  court¬ 
yard,  yelling  like  savages.  Then  the  butchery  began  : 
Every  one  was  struck  dumb  with  terror,  and  I  stood  there 
and  watched  it  for  a  few  moments,  awaiting  my  turn. 
At  first  I  looked  forward  to  death  calmly  enough,  but 
suddenly  I  felt  as  if  aid  had  been  vouchsafed  to  me  from 
some  supernatural  power.  Bound  as  I  was,  I  managed 
to  creep  away  unnoticed,  and  reached  one  of  the  back 
rooms  of  the  house,  where  I  freed  myself  from  my  bonds. 
I  found  that  I  was  in  the  women’s  quarters,  where  there 
were  still  some  of  the  older  women  who  had  been  unable 
to  escape. 

“  At  the  back  of  this  part  of  the  house  the  Manchu 
horses  and  pack  camels  were  stabled,  completely  blocking 
all  chance  of  egress.  Creeping  on  hands  and  knees, 
I  managed  to  crawl  under  the  beasts,  any  one  of  which 
might  have  trampled  me  to  a  jelly.  After  getting  past 
them  I  found  the  walls  too  high  for  escape  in  that  direction, 
but  to  my  left  there  was  a  passage  leading  to  a  postern 
door.  This  door — half  way  down  the  passage — was 
nailed  securely,  so  I  went  some  distance  up  the  passage, 
where  I  could  distinctly  hear  the  groans  of  my  dying 
comrades  and  the  shouts  of  their  executioners.  Passing 
the  kitchen,  I  saw  four  men  at  work  there.  They  had  been 
pressed  into  the  job  by  the  Manchus,  and  I  implored  them 
to  let  me  join  them  as  hewer  of  wood  or  drawer  of  water. 
They  angrily  refused,  saying :  ‘We  four  have  been 
specially  assigned  to  this  duty;  if  the  Manchus  find  an 
extra  hand  here  they  will  suspect  us  of  conspiracy,  and 

195 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


we  shall  all  be  killed.’  As  I  continued  to  beseech  them 
they  pushed  me  out,  driving  me  forth  with  a  carving 
knife. 

“  I  then  rushed  back  to  the  door  leading  out  of  the 
passage  and  pulled  at  it  with  all  my  might.  I  seized 
the  support  in  the  socket  of  which  the  door  was  inserted, 
and  with  a  stupendous  effort  managed  to  pull  it  out. 
With  bleeding  fingers  I  tried  to  push  the  door  open,  but 
it  was  still  effectually  closed  from  the  outside  by  a  heavy 
beam.  The  long  spell  of  wet  weather  had  caused  it  to 
stick  fast  in  its  socket,  and  I  could  not  move  it.  But  as 
I  pushed  and  pulled,  by  great  good  luck  the  top  hinge 
of  the  door  gave  way,  and  it  fell  outwards  with  a  heavy 
crash. 

“  Again  some  unseen  power  seemed  to  aid  me,  and  I 
was  through  the  postern  door  in  a  flash.  The  spot  at 
which  I  emerged  was  at  the  foot  of  the  city  wall,  and  some 
scouts  made  signs  to  me  to  advance  no  further,  so  I  made 
my  way  into  a  house  just  beyond  the  one  I  had  left. 
Every  room  in  it  was  full  of  refugees  in  hiding,  except  the 
gate-house,  which  looked  out  on  to  the  main  street,  and 
which  was  so  often  visited  by  soldiers  that  no  one  had 
ventured  to  go  there. 

“  There  was  a  corner  in  this  gate-house  behind  a  very 
high  cupboard,  into  which  I  managed  to  climb.  As  1 
waited,  scarcely  daring  to  breathe,  I  heard  an  agonised 
voice,  which  I  recognised  all  too  well,  the  voice  of  my 
younger  brother  begging  for  mercy.  A  sound  of  blows 
followed,  and  then  I  heard  my  second  eldest  brother  cry  : 

‘  I  have  money  buried  in  my  cellar  at  home.  Let  me  go 
and  I  will  bring  it  to  you.’  After  that  all  was  silence, 
and  my  heart  seemed  to  cease  beating.  I  felt  as  if  my  brain 
were  on  fire;  the  tears  refused  to  well  from  my  eyes, 
and  my  bowels  were  rent  asunder.  My  tongue  clove  to  my 
mouth,  and  I  think  I  lost  consciousness.  Shortly  after¬ 
wards  a  soldier  came  in,  dragging  a  woman  with  him. 

196 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


He  ordered  her  to  lie  with  him  on  the  couch;  when  she 
refused,  he  forced  her  until  she  was  compelled  to  yield. 

“  My  own  position  was  now  one  of  extreme  peril. 
Seizing  the  first  opportunity,  I  managed  to  climb  from  the 
cupboard,  which  was  open  at  the  top,  on  to  the  cross-beam 
of  the  loft  above.  It  was  as  black  as  pitch  up  there; 
and  every  now  and  then  soldiers  passing  by  would  look 
in  and  prod  the  loft  matting  above  their  heads  with  their 
long  spears.  Hearing  no  sound,  they  concluded  it  was 
empty.  I  lay  up  there  all  that  day;  during  that  time 
about  a  score  of  persons  were  murdered  in  the  room  beneath 
me.  Out  in  the  street  I  could  hear  sounds  of  horsemen 
riding  by,  with  shrieking  women  in  their  train.  There  was 
no  rain  that  day,  but  the  sky  was  overcast. 

“  As  the  day  drew  to  its  close  there  were  fewer  soldiers 
about,  but  the  wailing  of  homeless  refugees  served  to 
remind  me  of  my  two  brothers’  pitiful  deaths.  I  wondered 
if  my  wife  and  son  still  lived,  and  if  so,  where  they  might 
be  hiding.  As  the  night  fell  I  crept  down  from  my  loft 
and  went  out  into  the  street.  The  road  was  full  of  people 
crouching  in  attitudes  of  despair,  some  stooping  over 
corpses  and  calling  them  by  name.  Seeing  torches  moving 
towards  me,  I  hurriedly  made  down  a  side  lane  towards 
the  city  wall.  Here  the  piles  of  corpses  made  progress 
difficult,  and  I  stumbled  over  them  again  and  again. 
It  took  me  three  hours,  from  eight  o’clock  to  eleven,  to 
reach  my  eldest  brother’s  house.  He,  with  my  wife  and 
child,  were  there  before  me ;  I  could  not  bear  to  tell  them 
of  the  death  of  our  two  brothers. 

“  I  asked  my  wife  how  she  had  escaped.  She  replied  : 

‘  When  the  soldiers  were  driving  us  along,  I  was  ahead 
of  the  rest  and  somehow  or  other  escaped  attention. 
Carrying  Peng’rh  in  my  arms  I  got  away  and  hid  myself 
in  a  cellar.  My  sister  could  not  come  with  me;  she 
had  sprained  her  ankle,  and  a  soldier  was  carrying  her 
in  his  arms.  My  hiding-place  was  soon  discovered, 

197 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


and  we  were  taken  to  a  room  in  which  there  were  some 
thirty  or  forty  men  and  women,  all  bound.  My  captor 
gave  me  into  the  charge  of  one  of  the  women  jailers. 
In  the  meantime,  my  sister  had  been  carried  away  and 
I  saw  her  no  more.  After  a  while,  as  the  soldiers  did  not 
come  back,  I  persuaded  the  women  jailers  to  allow  me 
to  escape.  They  did  so,  and  outside  I  met  Mrs.  Hung 
(a  relative  of  her  brother),  who  brought  me  here.’ 

“  I  then  told  them  my  experiences.  While  I  was  speak¬ 
ing  Mrs.  Hung  came  in  and  brought  some  rice,  but  none 
of  us  could  eat.  Fires  were  again  breaking  out  all  over 
the  city ;  by  their  light  one  could  see  a  long  distance.  At 
the  back  of  the  Ho  family’s  graveyard  there  were  groups 
of  people  lying  under  the  trees,  and  the  sound  of  wailing 
mothers  and  children  was  most  pitiful  to  hear.  My  wife 
said  she  wished  to  kill  herself;  we  talked  together  all 
through  the  night,  and  I  dissuaded  her  for  the  present. 
In  the  morning  she  led  me  to  the  end  of  a  winding  passage, 
where  there  was  a  room  full  of  coffins  awaiting  burial. 
Here  I  crouched  down  in  some  straw  and  hid,  after  placing 
the  child  in  one  of  the  coffins  and  covering  him  with 
matting.  My  wife  concealed  herself  in  front.  I  dared 
not  move  hand  or  foot,  and  soon  my  limbs  were  com¬ 
pletely  numbed.  All  day  we  could  hear  the  voices  of 
soldiers  cursing,  and  the  pitiful  entreaties  of  their  victims. 
A  southerner  before  a  Manchu  was  like  a  sheep  in  the 
hands  of  the  butcher;  hardly  any  attempted  even  to 
escape.  Towards  evening  I  peeped  out  and  counted  over 
a  hundred  dead  bodies  in  that  one  courtyard. 

“  Little  Peng’rh  slept  on  the  top  of  the  coffin  right 
through  that  terrible  day,  and  never  stirred  but  once, 
when  I  wetted  his  lips  with  water  which  I  brought  in  a 
hollow  tile  from  the  ditch  outside.  As  evening  came  on 
Mrs.  Hung  came  again,  and  with  her  we  returned  to  the 
room  in  which  we  had  passed  the  night.  She  told  me  that 
my  sister-in-law  had  been  carried  off,  together  with  my 

198 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


little  nephew,  an  infant  in  arms.  We  counted  them  both 
for  dead,  which  made  four  deaths  in  my  family  in  two  days. 

“  I  tried  to  procure  a  little  rice,  but  without  success. 
My  brother  and  I  talked  together  all  that  night.  Thrice 
my  wife  attempted  suicide,  but  each  time  Mrs.  Hung 
prevented  her.  Then  my  brother  said :  4  We  are  not 
all  likely  to  survive  another  day.  I  am  still  unhurt. 
Give  me  the  child  now  and  let  me  try  to  escape  with  him.’ 
I  agreed,  and  my  brother  left  us. 

44  Mrs.  Hung  advised  my  wife  to  hide  in  her  cupboard, 
proposing  to  change  places  with  her.  However,  we  went 
back  to  our  coffin  room.  A  party  of  Manchu  soldiers 
entered  the  house  shortly  afterwards,  and  discovering 
Mrs.  Hung’s  hiding-place  they  beat  her  cruelly;  but  she 
told  them  nothing  of  our  whereabouts,  thereby  earning 
my  undying  gratitude.  Then  more  troops  appeared  on 
the  scene,  but  as  soon  as  they  saw  the  coffins  came  no 
further  in  our  direction.  At  last  a  party  of  ten  ruffianly- 
looking  Manchus  entered  the  room,  and  one  of  them  seized 
a  pole  and  began  poking  at  my  feet.  I  rose  and  showed 
myself.  Their  guide  was  a  Yang-chou  man  whom  I 
knew  by  sight,  and  I  begged  him  to  ask  them  to  spare  me. 
They  asked  for  money,  and  I  gave  them  some.  One  of 
the  soldiers  shouted  :  4  Let’s  spare  this  fellow’s  life 
for  the  present,’  and  they  all  went  away.  Then  a  young 
fellow  in  red  clothes  with  a  long  sword  entered,  and  began 
brandishing  it  in  my  direction.  He,  too,  wanted  money, 
and  I  gave  him  some.  He  was  not  satisfied,  and  pointed 
at  my  wife.  She  was  expecting  her  confinement  very 
shortly,  and  now  lay  motionless  on  the  ground.  I  deceived 
him  by  telling  him  that  she  had  been  injured  :  4  My  wife 
is  near  her  time,’  I  said,  4  and  yesterday  she  fell  from  a 
roof  and  injured  herself.  She  cannot  sit  up,  and  has  to 
remain  lying  down.’  The  red-clothed  man  did  not  believe 
me,  but  pulled  open  my  wife’s  dress  to  examine  her  person. 
He  noticed  that  her  lower  garments  were  caked  in  blood 

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ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


(she  had  previously  daubed  it  on),  and  so  believed  my  story. 
He  had  with  him  a  young  woman  and  two  little  children ; 
one  of  them,  a  boy,  cried  to  his  mother  for  food.  This 
enraged  the  soldier,  who  brained  the  poor  child  on  the 
stone  floor.  He  then  departed  with  the  mother  and  her 
little  girl. 

“  After  this  I  made  for  a  neighbour’s  house,  and  im¬ 
plored  him  to  let  us  take  shelter  there.  He  said  he  had 
no  room.  My  wife  again  begged  to  commit  suicide,  and 
as  I  felt  there  was  no  longer  any  hope  I  agreed;  so  we 
proceeded  to  hang  ourselves  with  one  rope  to  the  rafter. 
But  the  noose  had  been  clumsily  adjusted,  and  we  both 
fell  with  a  crash  to  the  ground.  More  soldiers  entered 
the  premises,  but  they  marched  straight  through  and  went 
their  ways.  My  wife  rushed  out  from  the  chamber  into 
an  outhouse,  which  was  full  of  straw;  here  there  were 
a  number  of  country  women,  who  allowed  her  to  enter, 
but  they  had  no  room  for  me.  I  ran  as  quickly  as  I 
could  towards  some  straw  which  was  piled  in  a  heap  in 
the  southern  corner,  climbed  up  to  the  top  of  the  stack, 
and  covered  myself  completely  with  the  straw.  I  thought 
I  should  be  safe  there,  but  in  a  little  while  there  came  a 
soldier,  who  jumped  up  and  began  poking  about  with  a 
long  spear.  I  came  forth  from  the  straw  and  offered  him 
money  to  spare  my  life.  He  searched  about  and  discovered 
several  other  refugees,  who  all  escaped  by  likewise  tender¬ 
ing  him  silver.  After  he  had  withdrawn  we  all  crept 
back  into  our  hiding-place.  Down  in  the  middle  of  the 
straw  I  noticed  a  couple  of  long  tables,  which  seemed  to 
offer  an  excellent  refuge  for  several  persons.  Unfortu¬ 
nately  for  my  idea,  part  of  the  adjoining  wall  had  collapsed, 
and  there  was  a  wide  chink,  through  which  our  movements 
could  be  seen  from  without.  I  had  not  noticed  this,  and 
had  just  lain  down  when  a  soldier  began  prodding  at  me 
with  a  spear;  he  succeeded  in  wounding  me  and  my 
companions  in  misery.  The  lower  part  of  my  back 

200 


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received  a  nasty  gash.  We  all  scrambled  out  as  best  we 
could,  and  again  I  went  to  my  wife’s  new  quarters.  All 
the  women  there  were  crouching  on  piles  of  firewood ; 
they  had  smeared  their  faces  and  hair  with  blood  and 
mud  and  cinders,  so  that  they  looked  more  like  demons 
than  women,  and  I  only  recognised  my  wife  by  her  voice. 

“  I  implored  them  to  allow  me  to  get  in  amongst  them, 
and  they  managed  to  find  me  a  place  right  at  the  bottom 
of  the  straw,  with  the  women  all  lying  on  top  of  me. 
I  was  nearly  stifled,  but  my  wife  procured  a  long  hollow 
bamboo,  which  I  placed  in  my  mouth,  and  through  it 
inhaled  a  little  fresh  air  from  above.  A  soldier  came  to 
the  door,  murdered  two  women  whom  he  had  dragged 
thither,  and  then  went  off. 

“  The  day  wore  on ;  it  grew  dark,  and  the  women  got 
up.  I  then  came  out  of  my  hiding-place,  soaking  with 
perspiration,  and  my  wife  and  I  went  back  to  the  Hung’s 
house,  where  we  found  not  only  Mrs.  Hung  and  her  husband 
but  also  my  brother  and  little  Peng’rh.  He  said  he  had 
been  forced  by  some  Manchus  to  load  carts  all  day,  but 
they  had  been  kind  to  little  Peng’rh.  They  had  given 
him  a  string  of  cash  at  the  end  of  his  day’s  work  besides 
a  safe  conduct  flag.  The  streets  were  piled  high  with 
corpses  and  all  the  ditches  choked  with  blood.  A  report 
was  current  that  a  certain  Colonel  Wang  Shao-yang,  on 
good  terms  with  the  Manchus,  was  providing  relief  for 
the  homeless  and  destitute,  and  that  his  intercession 
had  saved  many  from  being  murdered.  In  spite  of  all 
our  misery  I  slept  soundly  that  night;  when  morning 
broke  we  had  entered  upon  our  ninth  day  of  tribulation. 

“  So  far  we  had  marvellously  escaped,  but  rumours 
were  being  noised  abroad  that  all  the  survivors  were  to 
be  massacred  that  day,  so  that  many,  at  the  risk  of  their 
lives,  fled  from  the  city  by  means  of  ropes  let  down  from 
the  wall.  Meantime,  outlaws  and  cut-throats  from  the 
country  had  begun  to  make  their  way  into  the  city, 

201 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


plundering  whatever  was  left,  or  else,  lying  in  wait  outside, 
they  would  intercept  the  escaping  town  people  and  despoil 
them.  Under  these  circumstances  I  dared  not  make  the 
attempt  to  quit  Yang-chou,  and  my  brother  was  unwilling 
to  start  forth  alone.  So  that  evening  I  concealed  myself 
again  under  some  straw;  my  wife  and  the  child  lay  on 
top.  Many  times  did  my  wife  owe  her  safety  to  her 
advanced  pregnancy.  Soldiers  often  came  in,  but  we 
were  able  to  buy  them  off  with  bribes.  Finally  a  wolf-eyed, 
lantern-faced  Manchu  entered  and  glared  at  my  wife 
ferociously.  He  pulled  her  about  violently,  but  she  lay 
still,  and  told  him  the  same  story  about  having  fallen 
from  a  height.  He  did  not  believe  her,  and  compelled 
her  to  rise.  She  sank  again  immediately,  whereupon  the 
soldier  took  his  sword  and  cut  at  her  back,  blood  gushing 
from  each  stroke.  My  wife  had  previously  begged  me  not 
to  betray  my  presence,  even  to  save  her  life,  as  there  was 
a  chance  of  their  sparing  the  child  even  if  they  killed  her, 
and  if  I  discovered  myself  the  child  would  surely  starve,  for 
both  its  parents  would  be  dead.  So  I  remained  hidden  in 
the  straw  and  said  nothing,  expecting  that  each  moment 
would  be  my  wife’s  last.  The  soldier  finally  caught  her 
by  the  hair,  twisted  her  long  tresses  round  his  arm  and 
brutally  pulled  her  along,  belabouring  her  all  the  while. 
He  dragged  her  from  the  pile  of  straw  down  the  street 
for  about  fifty  yards,  pausing  after  every  few  paces  to 
slash  at  her  with  his  sword.  At  this  moment  a  party 
of  cavalry  came  up,  and  one  of  the  horsemen  spoke  to  the 
soldier  in  Manchu.  He  at  once  desisted,  and  left  my  wife, 
who  managed  to  crawl  back,  bleeding  in  seven  or  eight 
places,  and  covered  with  the  marks  of  her  terrible  ill- 
treatment.  She  continued  moaning  all  the  rest  of  that 
day. 

“  More  fires  were  started  and  several  stacks  of  straw  in 
the  Hos’  graveyard  blazed  up.  It  is  impossible  to  estimate 
the  number  of  those  who  were  either  burned  to  death  that 

202 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


night  or,  escaping  from  the  flames,  were  butchered  in 
the  streets.  The  safest  course,  which  we  adopted,  was  to 
lie  by  the  roadside  concealed  amongst  the  festering 
corpses,  but  even  then  there  was  no  certainty  of  escaping 
destruction. 

“  Towards  dawn  we  crept  out  and  lay  awhile  at  the  back 
of  a  grave-mound.  We  were  caked  all  over  with  mud 
and  excrement,  and  looked  like  any  thing  but  human  beings. 
A  fire  close  by  spread  to  the  trees  by  the  graveside,  and, 
what  with  the  roaring  of  the  flames  and  the  howling  of 
the  wind,  we  felt  as  if  we  were  already  in  the  infernal 
regions.  Ghastly  was  the  spectacle  as  the  dawn  broke 
and  a  pallid  sun  appeared.  On  all  sides  we  beheld  gaunt 
fleeting  spectres  of  men  and  women,  our  fellow  countrymen, 
while  the  Manchus,  like  so  many  Rakchas,1  chased  them 
up  and  down  as  if  they  were  already  denizens  of  the  nether¬ 
most  hell.  If  we  closed  our  eyes  our  fevered  brains 
conjured  up  visions  of  tortures  worse  than  those  we  had 
already  undergone.  Suddenly  I  heard  the  sound  of 
rushing  feet.  Looking  up,  I  was  horrified  to  see  that  my 
brother  had  been  seized  by  a  Manchu  soldier  and  was 
making  desperate  efforts  to  escape  from  his  hold.  At 
last  he  broke  away,  but  the  soldier  was  after  him.  For 
a  few  breathless  moments  I  gazed  in  horror;  in  the  end 
my  brother  came  tottering  back,  stark  naked  and  with 
dishevelled  hair,  in  the  firm  grasp  of  the  Manchu.  He 
implored  me  to  offer  the  man  money  to  save  his  life. 
I  had  only  one  silver  ingot  left,  and  this  I  offered  to  the  man, 
but  he  seized  his  sword  furiously  and  stabbed  my  brother 
in  the  neck.  He  fell  to  earth,  blood  gushing  from  his 
wounds.  Poor  little  Peng’rh  (aged  five  years)  seized 
the  soldier’s  knees  and  begged  him  with  tears  to  spare 
his  uncle’s  life.  The  soldier  calmly  wiped  his  blade  on 
Peng’rh’s  coat  and  then  stabbed  my  brother  again,  this 
time  in  the  head,  and  as  it  seemed  to  me,  mortally.  Then 
1  Demons  of  the  Buddhist  inferno,  which  devour  men. 

203 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


he  caught  me  by  the  hair  and  demanded  money,  belabour¬ 
ing  me  the  while  with  the  blunt  side  of  his  sword. 

“  I  told  him  that  my  money  was  all  gone,  but  offered 
to  get  him  other  articles.  So  he  dragged  me  to  the  Hungs’ 
house,  where  I  showed  him  my  wife’s  silk  clothes  and 
jewellery,  which  we  had  hidden  in  two  water-jars.  Every¬ 
thing  was  turned  out  on  the  doorstep,  and  he  helped  him¬ 
self  to  whatever  took  his  fancy.  He  removed  all  the  pearls 
and  gold  ornaments,  made  a  selection  of  the  best  clothes, 
and  observing  that  little  Peng’rh  had  a  silver  locket  round 
his  neck,  wrenched  it  off  with  his  knife.  Then  he  turned 
to  me  and  said  :  4 1  won’t  kill  you,  but  don’t  rejoice 
too  soon;  others  will  kill  you  before  very  long.’  This 
showed  me  that  a  general  massacre  was  afoot,  and  I  felt 
that  our  last  hour  had  come.  But  my  wife  and  I  hurried 
back  to  see  how  it  fared  with  our  brother.  The  wound 
in  his  neck  was  fearful — a  gaping  hole,  several  inches 
deep — and  from  the  gash  in  his  head  a  portion  of  the 
brain  was  protruding.  He  had  also  a  terrible  wound 
in  the  breast.  We  took  him  to  the  Hungs’  house  and  asked 
how  he  felt.  ‘  No  pain,’  he  replied,  4  just  drowsy.  I 
want  to  sleep.’  He  was  only  half  conscious  when  we 
left  him  there  to  go  and  hide  ourselves  close  to  a  neigh¬ 
bour’s  house  amidst  a  pile  of  corpses.  As  we  lay  there, 
suddenly  we  heard  a  voice  cry  :  4  The  general  massacre 
is  fixed  for  to-morrow.  All  who  can  escape  had  better 
do  so.’ 

44  My  wife  urged  me  to  fly  the  city,  but  I  reflected  that 
my  brother  was  desperately  wounded,  and  could  not  find 
it  in  my  heart  to  leave  him.  Besides,  we  had  now  no 
money,  and  if  we  left  the  city  we  should  only  be  facing 
the  certainty  of  death  from  starvation.  We  discussed 
our  position  miserably  for  a  long  time.  By  this  time  the 
fires  had  burned  themselves  out,  and  we  could  hear  the 
booming  of  distant  guns.  There  were  not  so  many 
soldiers  about,  so  I  moved  with  my  wife  and  child  to  an 

204 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


outhouse,  in  which  dry  dung  was  kept.  Mrs.  Hung  soon 
joined  us. 

“  As  we  sat  there  some  Manchus  came  by  with  five 
women,  two  of  whom  were  stricken  with  years.  The 
youngest  one  laughed  gaily  and  seemed  quite  happy. 
Two  more  soldiers  came  up  and  tried  to  snatch  the  younger 
women  away.  A  fight  ensued,  and  one  of  the  original 
party,  speaking  in  Manchu,  pleaded  with  the  newcomers 
to  desist.  The  last  two  men  managed,  however,  to  carry 
off  the  youngest  woman,  and  bore  her  underneath  a  large 
tree,  where  they  assaulted  her,  while  their  comrades  did 
the  same  with  the  other  females.  The  older  women 
pleaded  for  mercy,  but  the  younger  did  not  seem  in  the 
least  ashamed.  Later  on  I  saw  that  the  youngest  woman 
was  in  a  state  of  collapse.  I  recognised  her  as  the  wife  of 
an  acquaintance  named  Chia,  and  thought  that  her  wanton 
behaviour  had  met  with  its  just  reward.  Frailty  in  a 
woman  is  paid  for,  sooner  or  later. 

“  At  this  moment  a  young  man  of  about  thirty,  wearing 
a  Manchu  hat,  clad  in  red  clothes  and  wearing  black  satin 
boots,  came  riding  by.  He  had  a  breastplate  of  the 
finest  mail;  his  steed  was  beautifully  caparisoned  and 
he  was  attended  by  a  large  suite.  His  features,  though 
Tartar,  were  exceedingly  handsome ;  he  had  a  long 
protruding  chin  and  a  lofty  forehead.  Amongst  his 
retinue  there  were  many  Yang-chou  people.  This  was 
Prince  Yii,  the  Manchu  Commander-in-chief,  and  uncle 
of  their  Emperor. 

“  He  looked  closely  at  me,  saying  :  ‘You  don’t  look 
like  a  common  person ;  who  and  what  are  you  ?  ’  I 
reflected  that  some  of  our  people  had  escaped  by  saying 
that  they  were  scholars  by  profession,  while  others  of  the 
literati  had  been  murdered  on  suspicion  of  anti-Manchu 
proclivities.  I  did  not,  therefore,  reveal  my  identity, 
but  concocted  a  plausible  story.  Then  he  asked  about 
my  wife,  and  I  told  him  the  truth.  He  then  said  :  ‘  I  have 

205 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


given  orders  that  all  killing  shall  cease  from  to-morrow, 
so  you  will  be  quite  safe.’  He  bade  some  of  his  retinue  give 
me  clothes  and  an  ingot  of  silver.  4  How  long,’  he  asked, 
4  is  it  since  you  have  had  a  good  meal  ?  ’  I  answered  : 
4  Five  days.’  He  commanded  us  to  follow  him;  my  wife 
and  I  dared  not  disobey,  though  suspicious  of  his  inten¬ 
tions.  We  reached  a  mansion  where  preparations  for  a 
banquet  were  laid  out  on  a  most  lavish  scale.  Victuals 
of  all  kinds  were  there  in  abundance.  He  called  a  woman, 
saying  :  4  Treat  these  people  well,’  and  then  departed. 
It  was  now  twilight.  My  wife’s  younger  brother  had  been 
carried  off  and  we  knew  nothing  of  his  fate;  my  wife 
was  very  sad  at  his  loss.  The  woman  soon  came  out 
with  bowls  of  fish  and  rice,  and  as  this  mansion  was  quite 
near  to  the  Hungs’  house,  I  carried  some  food  to  my 
brother;  but  he  could  not  eat  it.  I  combed  his  hair 
and  washed  away  the  blood  from  his  face,  feeling  all  the 
time  as  though  a  sword  were  at  my  own  heart.  People’s 
minds  were  more  composed  on  hearing  that  the  massacres 
were  to  cease. 

44  Next  day  was  the  1st  of  the  5th  Moon;  although 
the  situation  was  much  improved,  looting  and  murder 
did  not  cease  entirely.  All  the  well-to-do  families  had 
been  stripped  bare  of  everything;  hardly  any  females 
over  ten  years  of  age  had  escaped  violation.  To-day  one 
of  the  Manchu  Generals,  the  Earl  of  Established  Peace, 
re-entered  Yang-chou  and  distributed  some  food  to  the 
people,  over  which  they  fought  like  ravenous  tigers. 
On  the  second  day  proclamations  were  issued  that  the 
Manchus  had  established  local  officials  in  Yang-chou 
and  the  surrounding  districts.  The  magistrates  were 
sending  out  runners  to  tranquillise  the  people.  The 
Buddhist  temples  received  orders  to  burn  all  corpses; 
there  were  still  many  women  hiding  in  their  shrines,  and 
many  had  died  there  of  starvation.  According  to  the 
official  records  of  bodies  found,  the  total  number  of  persons 

206 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


who  perished  during  these  days  was  eight  hundred  thousand, 
but  this  does  not  include  those  who  perished  in  the  flames 
or  who  drowned  themselves  in  the  river. 

“  On  the  third  day  a  notice  was  circulated  that  relief 
offices  were  distributing  grain  and  rice.  I  went  with 
Mrs.  Hung  to  the  place,  which  was  the  former  commissariat 
department  of  General  Shih  K’o-fa.  There  were  tons  of 
rice  and  grain  stored  in  bins,  but  in  a  very  short  space  of 
time  the  whole  of  it  had  been  distributed  to  the  famishing 
crowd.  They  presented  a  pitiful  spectacle,  most  of  them 
with  maimed  limbs  and  broken  heads,  and  all  in  filthy 
apparel.  But  when  the  grain  was  distributed  each  and 
all  fought  like  wolves;  children  even  forgot  to  consider 
their  parents,  and  struggled  only  for  themselves.  Many 
aged  and  infirm  persons  waited  all  day  without  securing 
a  mouthful. 

“  On  the  fourth  day  the  sky  cleared  and  the  heat  of 
the  sun  was  great.  The  stench  of  the  corpses  was  over¬ 
powering,  and  thousands  were  burned  during  the  day.  A 
mighty  smoke  was  raised,  and  the  smell  of  the  burning 
bodies  filled  the  air,  tainting  it  for  miles  around.  I 
burned  some  cotton  wool  and  human  bone,  and  with 
the  calcined  ashes  prepared  ointment  for  my  brother’s 
wounds.  He  accepted  it  gratefully,  but  could  not  utter 
a  word. 

“  On  the  fifth  day  many  people  who  had  remained  in 
hiding  began  to  come  forth;  people’s  hearts  were  too 
full  for  speech.  We  five,  including  the  Hungs,  were  still 
alive,  but  as  yet  we  did  not  dare  to  spend  the  day  in  our 
own  house.  After  breakfast  we  went  out  and  sat  by  the 
roadside.  No  one  dared  to  wash  or  dress  his  hair,  for 
there  were  still  robbers  about,  but  these  were  only  common 
footpads;  they  had  no  swords,  only  cudgels,  with  which 
they  frightened  people  into  giving  them  money.  But 
even  so  they  beat  several  people  to  death  and  outraged 
many  women.  We  could  not  tell  if  these  wretches  were 

207 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


Manchus  or  Chinese  soldiers  or  merely  loeal  ruffians. 
To-day  my  brother  died  of  his  grievous  wounds,  which 
had  mortified.  My  loss  is  not  to  be  described.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  trouble  we  were  a  party  of  eight  brothers 
and  sisters  and  their  issue;  now  only  three  remained,  I, 
my  wife  and  Peng’rh. 

“  In  all  I  have  described  the  events  of  ten  days,  from 
the  25th  of  the  5th  to  the  5th  of  the  4th  Moon.  I 
have  only  told  of  my  own  experiences  and  the  things  of 
which  I  have  been  an  eye-witness.  In  all  my  story  there 
is  not  one  word  of  hearsay  or  rumour,  and  I  have  refrained 
from  mentioning  events  which  did  not  come  under  my  own 
observation.  Hence  I  know  that  this  record  is  true. 
Perchance  posterity,  born  in  a  happier  age,  may  be 
interested  in  perusing  this  diary,  and  it  may  serve  to  point 
a  moral  for  the  unreflecting.  It  may  even  cause  vindictive 
and  cruel-minded  men  to  reflect  on  the  error  of  their  ways, 
and  thus  be  of  some  value,  as  a  solemn  warning.” 

Thus  it  was  in  China  in  the  year  1645.  For  265  years 
thereafter  the  Manchus  ruled  over  the  Empire  which  they 
had  won  by  the  sword.  Under  the  wise  government  of 
their  earlier  Emperors  the  country  rapidly  recovered, 
as  it  always  does,  from  the  abomination  of  desolation 
wrought  first  by  Li  Tzu-cheng’s  rebellion  and  then  by  the 
Manchus’  ruthless  war  of  conquest.  New  cities  sprang 
up  where  no  stone  had  been  left  upon  another  to  tell  the 
story  of  the  dead ;  once  more  the  wilderness  was  made  to 
blossom  as  the  rose,  until,  in  the  fulness  of  time,  the 
Manchus’  course  of  Empire  was  run  and,  as  they  lost 
their  prestige  as  rulers,  rebellion  and  anarchy  once  more 
laid  waste  the  land. 

In  the  events  which  have  marked  the  passing  of  this 
once  Imperial  race,  none  display  more  vividly  the  pitiless 
irony  of  Fate  and  the  innate  savagery  of  Orientals  in 
their  crises  of  battle  and  sudden  death  than  the  slaughter 

208 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


of  the  Manchu  garrisons  at  cities  like  Sianfu  during  the 
recent  revolution.  Describing  the  sack  of  the  Tartar 
city  at  Sianfu  in  October  1911,  one  who  passed  through 
it  shortly  afterwards  wrote  :  1 

“  Once  the  Chinese  set  about  this  business  of  destruction, 
the  lust  of  blood,  the  madness  of  killing,  possessed  them. 
Old  and  young,  men  and  women,  little  children,  were  alike 
butchered.  The  Tartar  General,  old,  hopeless,  cut  off 
from  his  people  at  the  critical  juncture,  was  unable  to 
face  the  situation.  The  safety  he  had  won  for  the  moment 
he  felt  not  worth  the  keeping ;  he  ended  his  life  by  throw¬ 
ing  himself  down  a  well.  Houses  were  plundered  and  then 
burnt;  those  who  would  fain  have  laid  hidden  till  the 
storm  was  past  were  forced  to  come  out  into  the  open. 
The  revolutionaries,  protected  by  a  parapet  of  the  wall, 
poured  a  heavy,  unceasing,  relentless  fire  into  the  doomed 
Tartar  city.  Those  who  tried  to  escape  thence  into  the 
Chinese  city  were  cut  down  as  they  emerged  from  the 
gates.  At  the  western  gates  the  Mohammedans  cynically 
received  them  for  their  own  purpose.  In  the  darkness  some 
managed  to  scale  the  city  wall,  and  descend  the  other  side, 
wade  through  the  moat  and  escape  to  the  open  country. 
But  not  all  who  attempted  this  succeeded.  The  wall  is 
thirty-six  feet  in  height  and  at  the  top  is  some  sixteen 
yards  wide,  and  on  it  at  various  points  clustered  the 
Chinese  soldiers.  The  fugitives  to  escape  had  to  slip 
between  these,  avoid  the  flashing  lanterns  and  find  a  means 
of  affixing  their  ropes  safely  before  descending.  Some 
possibly  escaped  by  venturing  to  leap  from  the  height. 

“  In  despair,  many  Manchus  themselves  set  fire  to  their 
houses ;  at  least  they  might  cheat  their  murderers  of  the 
loot  they  sought.  Into  the  English  Hospital,  days  after¬ 
wards,  when  the  first  fury  was  passed,  men  were  brought 
in  a  shocking  condition;  men  who  had  attempted  to  cut 

1  The  Passing  of  the  Dragon.  By  J.  C.  Keyte.  (Rodder  and 
Stoughton.)  1913. 

p 


209 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


their  throats.  Asked  why  they  had  done  so  they  answered 
simply :  ‘  The  wells  were  full.’  And  the  Shensi  wells 

are  not  the  shallow  ones  of  some  parts  of  China;  they 
are  thirty-six  feet  deep.  There  is  such  a  man  in  that 
hospital  to-day.  All  his  family,  wife,  daughters,  sons,  were 
slain  or  destroyed  themselves ;  he  lives  because  the  well 
was  choked  with  dead  or  dying,  and  he  failed  in  his 
attempt  to  end  his  life  by  other  means. 

“  There  were  many  Manchus  in  the  Chinese  city  at  the 
time  of  the  outbreak.  Some  escaped  for  the  moment 
through  taking  shelter  with  friends.  But  even  twenty  days 
after  the  outbreak,  a  Manchu  detected  on  the  street  would 
be  dragged  off  to  instant  execution.  Hundreds  were 
thus  hunted  through  the  streets  and  lanes  of  the  city. 
They  were  known  by  their  clothing,  by  their  cast  of 
countenance,  by  their  speech.  .  .  . 

“  When  the  Manchus  found  that  further  resistance  was 
useless,  they  in  many  cases  knelt  on  the  ground,  laying 
down  their  weapons  and  begged  the  soldiers  for  life.  They 
were  shot  as  they  knelt.  Sometimes  there  was  a  whole 
line  of  them.  In  one  doorway  a  group  of  between  ten 
and  twenty  were  thus  killed  in  cold  blood. 

“A  girl  came  down  the  street;  a  girl  of  twenty,  with 
hands  bound.  She  had  been  hastily  dragged  before  the 
‘  judges  !  ’  in  the  Magazine,  temporary  headquarters 
of  the  Revolution,  and  was  now  being  taken  out  a  hundred 
yards  or  so  to  be  beheaded.  And  in  her  face  w'as  that 
which  once  seen — by  the  passer-by  at  least — was  never 
to  be  forgotten.  It  was  not  despair.  Ah  no  !  That 
anodyne  had  had  no  time  in  which  to  reach  her.  It 
was  the  full  young  life  cheated  of  its  days,  going  out  into 
the  dark,  the  path  before  her  littered  by  fearful  reminders  of 
the  fate  in  front.  From  the  pallid  lips  no  sound  issued; 
they  were  held,  as  the  girl’s  whole  being  was  held,  by  utter 
terror.  The  shaking  limbs,  the  stumbling  gait,  proclaimed 

210 


A  War  Junk  at  the  Time  of  Lord  Macartney’s  Mission. 
( From  a  painting  by  W,  Alexander  in  the  British  Museum.) 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


it,  but  more  than  all  the  awful  haunting  eyes.  Along 
the  route  where  the  reek  of  blood  made  the  very  air  bitter, 
acrid  in  the  brilliant  sunshine,  where  curses  and  sobs 
mingled  with  groans  and  derisive  raucous  cries  rent  the 
air,  they  went.  A  woman,  a  very  girl,  caught  within  the 
enemy’s  gates,  not  dying  with  her  own  people,  not  able 
to  save  herself  with  them  if  only  in  a  death  she  saw  and 
chose;  but  hurried  along  thus,  as  to  a  shambles.  And 
her  crime  ?  Her  birth.  A  Manchu.  The  soldier  muttered 
impatiently.  He  had  other  affairs  to  attend  to  when 
this  was  over.  Time  meant  money,  meant  sport,  in  those 
days.  He  stalked  along  behind  her  with  naked  sword 
held  up.  ‘  Hurry,’  he  snarled,  4  Hurry.’ 

“  Days  after  the  outbreak  an  Englishman,  passing  down 
a  side  street,  heard  groans,  heard  the  cry  of  pain,  coming 
up  with  hollow  sound  from  the  depths.  At  the  mouth 
of  a  well  stood  some  Chinese.  It  was  their  day.  The 
pitiful  cries  went  on,  the  feeble  moaning  varied  with  the 
sharp  cries.  A  Manchu,  who  had  thrown  himself,  or 
been  thrown  down  this  well,  had  lain  there  with  broken 
limbs ;  lay  there  in  agony,  appealing  almost  unconsciously 
for  pity. 

“  The  men  at  the  well  mouth  picked  up  lumps  of  earth, 
stones,  picked  up  what  came  to  hand.  There  came  up 
from  the  well’s  depths  the  thud  of  missiles  on  human  flesh.” 

And  so  the  whirligig  of  Time  brings  in  its  merciless 
revenges;  the  butchers  of  to-day  are  the  victims  of  to¬ 
morrow.  Europe,  with  its  reserves  of  inherited  wealth, 
with  outlets  overseas  for  its  surplus  millions,  its  organised 
philanthropy  and  scientific  economics,  has  no  conception 
of  the  realities  of  life  in  furthest  Asia,  the  same  now  as 
they  were  in  the  days  when  “  the  Lord  commanded  Moses 
to  war  against  the  Midianites,  and  they  slew  all  the  males, 
and  burnt  all  their  cities  wherein  they  dwelt.”  It  is  not 
possible  for  us,  in  our  well-ordered  materialism,  to  sym- 

211 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


pathise  with  the  forces  of  atavism,  the  instinctive  terrors 
and  cruelties  that  dwell  for  ever  in  the  soul  of  this  people. 
The  sack  of  Yang  Chou-fu  and  that  of  the  Tartar  city  at 
Sianfu  are  in  reality  insignificant  incidents,  normal  features 
in  the  life  history  of  a  race  which  since  the  beginning  of 
recorded  time  has  learned  “  to  eat  its  bread  with  quaking 
and  to  drink  its  water  with  trembling.” 


212 


CHAPTER  VIII 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  MINGS 

Kuei  Wang  (Prince  Kuei),  the  last  and  the  longest-lived 
of  the  four  fugitive  claimants  to  the  Dragon  Throne, 
kept  up  a  semblance  of  sovereignty  from  1646  (when 
his  predecessor  was  executed  by  the  Manchus  at  Foochow) 
till  1659,  when  he  was  compelled  to  flee  over  the  Yunnan 
frontier  into  Burmah.  When  he  succeeded  to  the  Great 
Inheritance,  under  the  reign  title  of  “  Yung  Li,”  the 
harried  Court  of  the  Mings,  shorn  now  of  all  its  regal  pomp 
and  revenues,  was  in  Kuangtung,  but  in  the  following 
year,  closely  pursued  by  the  ever- victorious  Manchus,  it 
fled  into  Kuangsi.  There  a  stand  was  made,  and  for  a 
time  the  fortunes  of  the  Mings  seemed  to  be  in  the 
ascendant.  In  1648  three  provinces  owned  their  allegi¬ 
ance,  and  a  force  of  over  200,000  men  still  held  in  check 
the  alien  invaders.  The  death  of  the  Regent,  Prince  Jui, 
(1649)  put  new  heart  into  the  cause,  and  the  serious 
rebellions  which  broke  out  against  the  Manchus  in  Hunan, 
Chekiang  and  other  provinces,  all  justified  the  Mings 
in  hoping  for  a  restoration  of  their  House.  But  it  was 
not  to  be.  By  the  year  1650,  the  rank  and  file  of  the 
Mings’  adherents  consisted  chiefly  of  freebooters  and 
recruits  drawn  from  Li  Tzu-ch’eng’s  scattered  armies, 
and  the  small  remnant  of  respectable  men  who  continued 
to  follow  their  fallen  fortunes  were  influenced  as  much 
by  hopes  of  perquisites  and  power  as  by  patriotic  dislike 
of  a  foreign  ruler.  Gradually  the  flag  of  the  old  dynasty 

213 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


became  nothing  more  than  a  rallying  point  for  political 
adventurers,  and  the  Court  a  cave  of  Adullam,  to  which 
gathered  themselves  all  those  that  were  in  distress  or 
debt  or  bitterness  of  soul.  In  1651  the  wretched  Yung 
Li  had  been  forced  to  flee  further  and  further  West,  until 
at  last  we  find  him,  a  refugee  and  a  pensioner,  under  the 
protection  of  a  leader  of  desperadoes,  one  who  had  taken 
an  active  part  in  Li  Tzu-ch’eng’s  rebellion,  and  who  now 
used  the  Ming  claimant  and  his  few  faithful  Ministers  to 
give  to  his  own  ambitious  schemes  a  reasonable  pretext 
and  some  semblance  of  patriotism.  From  1655  to  1659 
Kuei  Wang,  with  a  remnant  of  troops  commanded  by 
another  famous  freebooter  named  Li  Ting-kuo,  was 
closely  pursued  by  the  Manchu  forces,  which  then  stamped 
out  the  flickering  flames  of  rebellion  in  Kueichow  and 
Yunnan.  Finally,  his  last  battle  fought  and  lost,  he  fled 
for  his  life,  with  a  poor  handful  of  followers,  across  the 
Burmese  frontier,  near  Teng-yueh;  there,  for  a  time,  he 
found  a  refuge  from  the  fierce  pursuit  of  Wu  San-kuei. 
This  General,  now  all-powerful  ruler  of  two  provinces 
under  the  Manchus,  but  once  the  chief  hope  and  defence 
of  the  Mings  at  Peking,  showed  himself  brutally  pitiless 
in  his  treatment  of  the  unfortunate  Kuei  Wang,  a  broken 
fugitive  who  could  no  longer  threaten  the  power  of  the 
Ta  Ching  dynasty.  The  pathetic  figure  of  the  last  of 
the  Mings  in  exile  was,  indeed,  something  to  arouse 
sympathy  in  the  mind  of  any  magnanimous  man,  and 
Wu’s  implacable  cruelty  towards  him  is  only  explained 
and  condoned  by  Chinese  scholars  by  the  fact  that  his 
education  was  not  that  of  a  literary  man.  A  military 
training,  they  declare,  does  not  inculcate  the  canons  of 
the  Sages. 

From  his  retreat  in  Burmah  the  last  of  the  Mings  wrote 
to  Wu  San-kuei,  endeavouring  to  placate  him,  or  at  least 
to  dissuade  him  from  further  relentless  pursuing.  The 
letter  was  written  in  December  1662. 

214 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


“  Your  Excellency  has  deserved  right  well  of  the  present 
dynasty,  but  once  you  were  a  bulwark  of  our  own.  Under 
it  you  received  hereditary  rank  and  a  provincial  satrapy, 
so  that  His  late  Majesty  Ch’ung  Chen  may  be  said  to 
have  conferred  exceptional  favours  on  Your  Excellency. 

“  Unhappily,  our  dynasty  fell  upon  evil  days ;  the 
rebel  bandit,  Li  Tzu-ch’eng,  laid  waste  the  land  and 
marched  on  our  capital.  Our  tutelary  altars  were  de¬ 
stroyed,  so  that  His  late  Majesty  felt  that  suicide  was  his 
duty,  and  thousands  of  our  subjects  were  put  to  the  sword. 

“  At  that  time  Your  Excellency  had  not  lost  all  right 
and  natural  feeling;  you  wept  at  the  thought  of  the 
dynasty’s  plight,  and  marched  to  its  aid  clad  in  mourning, 
at  the  head  of  an  avenging  host. 

“  How  comes  it  then  that,  since  that  day,  you  have 
staked  your  fortunes  upon  those  of  the  Manchus,  like 
the  fox  which  relied  on  the  prestige  of  the  tiger  to  lord 
it  over  the  beasts  of  the  forest?  You  pretended  a 
loyal  desire  to  wreak  vengeance  on  our  enemies,  and  all 
the  time  you  were  the  very  humble  and  obedient  servant 
of  the  new  dynasty. 

“  Since  then,  Li  Tzu-ch’eng’s  rebellion  has  been  sup¬ 
pressed  and  its  leader  has  met  with  the  fate  he  deserved, 
but  our  dynasty  had  already  lost  the  whole  of  the  northern 
portion  of  the  Empire.  Our  Ministers  in  the  South  could 
not  bear  to  see  the  dynastic  altars  bare  and  untended, 
so  they  raised  up  the  Emperor  Hung  Kuang  at  Nanking 
to  succeed  Ch’ung  Chen.  Was  it  to  be  expected  or  be¬ 
lieved  that  even  then  the  attacks  of  the  Manchus  would 
continue,  unrelenting  and  unceasing  ?  Hung  Kuang 
perished  in  battle,  and  his  successor,  Lung  Wu,  was  put 
to  death  at  Foochow.  Facing  these  swift-footed  disasters, 
I,  all  unworthy,  had  but  little  desire  to  live ;  what  thought 
had  I  to  spare  for  our  dynastic  altars  ?  Nevertheless, 
my  Ministers  forced  the  Throne  upon  me,  and  I  was 
reluctantly  induced  to  take  up  the  burden  of  inheritance. 

215 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


“  Since  then  fifteen  years  have  passed;  the  first  cam¬ 
paign  of  my  reign  lost  us  Hupei,  and  after  that,  further 
disasters  followed  in  Kuangtung.  Again  and  again  have 
I  had  to  flee,  in  panic-stricken  confusion,  before  the 
advancing  Manchus.  Fortunately,  at  a  moment  of  great 
peril,  Li  Ting-kuo  came  to  my  aid  in  Kuei-chou  and  brought 
me  safe  to  Nan-an  in  Yunnan.  There  I  had  hoped  to  be 
left  in  peace  by  my  ruthless  enemies,  to  be  allowed  to 
remain  in  possession  of  that  remote  and  worthless  corner 
of  my  ancestors’  patrimony. 

“  But  Your  Excellency  has  forgotten  the  benefits 
which  my  ancestors  bestowed  upon  you;  evidently  you 
hope  to  go  down  to  history  as  one  of  the  founders  of  this 
new  dynasty.  You  led  your  armies  into  Yunnan,  destroy¬ 
ing  my  nest  of  peaceful  retreat.  Again  I  had  to  cross  a 
desert  barrier,  and  now  I  look  for  my  protection  to  Burmese 
hospitality.  In  this  remote  region  joy  and  I  have  long 
been  strangers ;  tears  are  my  daily  meat  and  drink. 
Although  I  have  lost  the  glorious  heritage,  won  by  my 
ancestors  at  the  cost  of  so  many  and  great  hardships, 
no  doubt  but  that  I  should  count  myself  lucky  in  that  I 
still  draw  the  breath  of  pain  among  these  people  of  the 
barbarian  South  ! 

“  But  Your  Excellency,  not  to  be  appeased,  desists 
not  from  pursuing  me  to  the  end.  You  have  now  asked 
your  Sovereign’s  permission  to  invade  Burmah  at  the 
head  of  a  mighty  army,  in  order  ruthlessly  to  hunt  me 
down,  me,  a  sad  and  solitary  dweller  in  the  land.  Is 
not  the  whole  Empire  wide  enough  for  your  ambitions? 
Is  there  then  to  be  no  resting-place  for  me,  ’neath 
heaven’s  vault  upon  the  bosom  of  earth  ?  Or  is  it, 
perchance,  that  your  insatiate  ambition  is  not  content 
with  the  princedom  which  you  have  received,  and  that 
you  seek  my  destruction  in  order  that  you  may  be  crowned 
with  fresh  honours  ?  Is  it  that  you  are  jealous  of  our 
founder,  T’ai  Tsu,  who  won  the  Empire  by  deeds  of 

216 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


glorious  merit,  after  being  ‘  combed  by  the  wind  and 
bathed  in  the  sun,’  and  that  you  feel  it  hard  that  you 
have  not  been  left  one  inch  of  ground  which  you  could 
boast  of  having  won  by  yourself?  In  despite,  you  must 
needs  first  destroy  our  ancestral  altars,  and  now  follow 
up  that  brave  deed  by  slaughtering  T’ai  Tsu’s  descendants  ! 
Can  you,  I  wonder,  bear  to  peruse  the  ode,  ‘  Oh !  owl, 
oh  !  owl,  you  have  robbed  me  of  my  young;  destroy  not 
also  my  nest ;  with  love  and  care  I  nurtured  them ; 
truly  I  deserve  to  be  pitied  without  shame  5  ? 

“  Your  Excellency’s  ancestors  won  a  glorious  place 
in  our  annals ;  it  may  be  that  you  refuse  to  show  to  me 
an  atom  of  pity,  but  can  it  be  that  you  are  lost  to  all 
remembrance  of  His  late  Majesty,  who  gave  you  high 
rank?  Even  if  you  reck  nothing  for  him,  surely  you 
cannot  forget  the  merits  of  my  great  ancestor  T’ai  Tsu 
and  of  his  son  Yung  Lo  (Cheng  Tsu)  and  their  successors  ! 
It  may  be  that  you  have  also  forgotten  their  names; 
but  even  so,  you  cannot  be  so  devoid  of  filial  piety  as 
to  forget  the  example  of  your  own  forefathers  ! 

“  What  has  the  Great  Pure  Manchu  dynasty  done  for 
Your  Excellency  to  win  such  loyal  devotion  and  service 
at  your  hands  ?  What  crime,  what  act  of  unjust  oppression, 
have  I  committed  towards  Your  Excellency  that  you 
thus  evilly  intreat  me  ?  Thinking  to  be  wise,  you  are 
become  as  a  fool ;  believing  yourself  loyal  to  your  new 
masters,  you  are  at  heart  a  traitor  both  to  old  and  new. 
Ten  thousand  generations  hence,  what  name  will  Your 
Excellency  leave  in  history  ?  what  manner  of  man  will 
posterity  call  you?  To-day  I  make  appeal  to  Your  Ex¬ 
cellency.  I  am  left  with  scarcely  a  soldier  to  defend  me ; 
I  stand  alone,  like  one  bereft  of  his  parents,  against  a 
hostile  world.  My  life,  humble  and  worthless,  is  in  Your 
Excellency’s  hands.  If  you  must  have  my  head,  it  is 
forfeit  to  you.  I  shrink  not  from  death,  though  the 
undergrowth  be  soaked  with  my  blood  and  my  scattered 

217 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


bones  lie  whitening  the  plain.  Far  be  it  from  me  to 
expect  Your  Excellency  to  spare  my  life,  or  to  plead  with 
you  to  grant  me  a  narrow  plot  of  ground  on  which  I, 
the  descendant  of  the  glorious  Ming  dynasty,  may  still 
eke  out  an  existence.  Yet  why  should  you  not  allow 
me  to  benefit  by  the  nurturing  protection  of  the  Manchu 
dynasty,  under  which  even  the  grass  of  the  field  is  watered 
by  timely  dew  and  rain  from  above  ?  If  I  had  a  million 
men-at-arms,  cheerfully  would  I  place  them  all  under 
your  banner.  It  is  now  for  Your  Excellency  to  decide. 
Faithful  servant  of  the  new  dynasty  though  you  be,  it 
remains  for  Your  Excellency  to  show  that  you  have  not 
forgotten  past  benefits  heaped  upon  you  by  His  late 
Majesty,  and  that  you  still  cherish  the  memory  of  my 
predecessors’  glorious  achievements.  I  must  leave  Your 
Excellency  to  think  out  and  decide  this  matter  for 
yourself.” 

To  this  pathetic  letter  Wu  San-kuei  made  no  reply, 
but  proceeded  to  threaten  the  Burmese  King  with  dire 
penalties  unless  the  fugitive  were  promptly  surrendered. 

About  three  months  after  Yung  Li’s  vain  attempt  to 
placate  Wu  San-kuei,  the  Burmese  invited  the  remnant 
of  the  Emperor’s  Court  to  meet  one  of  their  chieftains  on 
a  small  island  for  the  purpose  of  arranging  the  terms  of 
a  treaty.  Here  they  treacherously  seized  them  all,  and 
slew  Prince  Sung  with  forty- two  high  officials.  Many 
women  of  the  Imperial  and  princely  households  committed 
suicide.  Only  a  few  of  the  Emperor’s  followers  escaped, 
among  them  a  General  named  Teng.  He  subsequently 
declared  that  the  Burmese  would  have  killed  the  Emperor 
also,  but  a  message  arrived  from  the  Burmese  King  (who 
had  just  succeeded  to  the  Throne)  that  he  was  to  be  held 
as  a  prisoner  and  handed  over  to  Wu  San-kuei.  Early 
in  the  12th  Moon  the  Manchus  arrived  upon  the  scene 
and  carried  off  Yung  Li  to  Yunnan. 

A  certain  Chi  T’an-jan,  native  of  Nanking,  and  his 

218 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


father  accompanied  the  escort  which  brought  the  ex- 
Emperor  back  to  China.  The  following  account  is  in 
Chi  T’an-jan’s  own  words,  as  recorded  in  a  contemporary 
memoir :  “  When  His  Majesty  crossed  the  Yunnan 
boundary  he  was  met  by  Wu  San-kuei,  who  had  prepared 
a  sedan-chair  for  his  use.  All  along  the  route  the  people 
crowded  to  see  him,  saying  :  ‘  This  is  the  former  Son  of 
Heaven,’  and  hardly  a  man  but  shed  tears  as  he  gazed 
on  so  pitiful  a  sight.  The  Emperor  was  round  of  coun¬ 
tenance,  with  a  protuberant  forehead ;  his  beard  was  long 
and  full,  and  he  looked  every  inch  a  King.  A  number  of 
the  Manchu  bodyguard  joined  in  a  plot  to  rescue  and 
defend  him,  so  moved  were  they  at  the  thought  of  his 
wrongs  and  so  wrath  with  Wu  San-kuei  for  his  treachery. 
But  the  plot  miscarried,  and  over  forty  of  them  were 
executed.  I  myself  witnessed  their  deaths;  one  of  them 
was  of  immense  stature,  nigh  seven  feet  in  height,  and 
broad  in  proportion.  It  was  said  that  he  was  the  cham¬ 
pion  archer  and  rider  in  the  Manchu  army,  as  well  as  a 
great  wrestler.” 

This  conspiracy  made  Yung  Li’s  plight  all  the  more 
desperate.  Wu  San-kuei  sent  couriers  to  Peking  for 
instructions,  and  in  the  3rd  Moon  of  the  following  year, 
1663,  he  received  a  secret  decree  from  the  Regent  Ao  Pai, 
in  the  name  of  the  Emperor  K’ang  Hsi,  ordering  him  to 
put  Yung  Li  to  death.  So  Wu  invited  the  ex-Emperor 
to  a  chess  tourney  at  the  Treasury  building,  just  outside 
the  northern  gate  of  Yiinnan-fu,  and  there  had  him 
strangled.  A  Chinese  author,  himself  a  descendant  of 
the  Mings,  has  the  following  note  on  Yung  Li’s  death  : 
“No  one  knew  that  his  death  had  been  decided  upon  for 
that  day,  but,  at  about  the  eleventh  hour,  the  sky,  which 
had  been  clear  and  calm,  became  suddenly  overcast,  and 
there  arose  a  terrible  storm,  darkening  the  air  with  dust. 
Peasants  at  work  near  the  Temple  of  Buddhist  Conversion, 
close  to  the  Chin-chih  lake,  half-a-mile  from  the  city, 

219 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


beheld  a  shooting  star  fall  from  Heaven,  and  it  was  after¬ 
wards  found  that  the  hour  at  which  they  saw  it  was 
that  in  which  Yung  Li  was  murdered.  His  remains  were 
buried  in  Yiinnan-fu.  His  wife  and  mother  were  both 
sent  to  Peking,  where  they  were  kindly  treated,  but  soon 
afterwards  the  ex-Empress  Dowager  committed  suicide. 
Yung  Li  was  thirty-eight  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his 
death.  He  resembled  the  Emperor  Wan  Li,  his  grand¬ 
father,  in  face,  and  also  in  his  hatred  of  extravagance. 
He  was  a  man  of  simple  tastes,  and  drank  but  little  wine. 
Although  not  a  great  scholar,  he  was  a  keen  reader,  an 
eager  student  of  the  classics.  Great  grief  and  indignation 
were  felt  in  Yunnan  at  his  cruel  death.  Surely,  a  happier 
day  is  dawning;  let  us  hope  that  China  may  soon  see  the 
descendants  of  her  old  hero,  Chu  Yuan-chang,1  restored 
once  more  to  their  own,  and  the  alien  barbarians  driven 
back  to  their  Gobi  desert.” 

One  of  Yung  Li’s  most  devoted  adherents  was  Kung  Yi, 
who  was  President  of  his  Board  of  Rites;  he  followed  his 
master  to  Yunnan,  and  when  that  province  was  lost  fled 
with  him  to  Burmah.  Here  he  set  to  work  to  induce  the 
local  tribesmen  to  rally  to  his  succour,  but  before  he  had 
had  time  to  achieve  any  results,  Yung  Li  was  treacherously 
captured  by  the  Burmese,  who  handed  him  over  to  Wu 
San-kuei.  Kung  Yi  followed  the  captive  to  Yiinnan-fu. 
One  day  soon  after  his  arrival  he  prepared  food  and  wine 
and  bore  them  to  the  place  where  Yung  Li  was  confined. 
The  guards  sought  to  prevent  him  from  entering,  but  he 
persisted,  saying  :  “  Your  prisoner  is  our  Chinese  Emperor, 
and  I  am  his  Minister ;  all  I  ask  is  to  be  allowed  to  see  him 
once  more.  Why  do  you  prevent  me  ?  ”  So  the  guards 
reported  the  matter  to  Wu  San-kuei,  who  permitted  Kung 
Yi  to  enter.  He  prepared  his  little  feast  in  the  main  room, 
and  then  invited  the  Emperor  to  take  his  place  facing  the 
South  in  the  seat  of  honour  on  the  dais,  as  if  he  were 
1  The  founder  of  the  Ming  dynasty. 

220 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


presiding  at  a  Court  banquet,  while  he  knelt  dutifully 
below. 

Having  made  obeisance,  he  presented  the  wine.  The 
Emperor  wept  bitterly  and  put  the  cup  down  untouched. 
Kung  Yi  prostrated  himself  in  the  dust,  utterly  overcome 
with  grief.  Once  more  he  besought  His  Majesty  to  drink, 
and  Yung  Li  forced  himself  at  last  to  swallow  a  little. 
Then  the  Emperor  handed  a  cup  to  Kung  Yi,  who  drank 
it,  and  in  a  few  moments  he  expired.  The  Emperor 
raised  him  in  his  arms  and  wept  bitterly  when  he  saw 
that  his  faithful  servant  was  dead.  Not  long  after  this 
Yung  Li  was  strangled,  as  above  stated,  and  with  him 
ended  the  last  attempt  of  the  Mings  to  recover  their 
Throne.  Two  centuries  later  the  Taiping  rebels  raised  the 
cry,  “Restore  the  Mings,”  but  it  was  a  battle-cry  only, 
just  as  much  lacking  in  political  significance  and  genuine 
loyalty  to  the  departed  dynasty  as  Sun  Yat-sen’s  melo¬ 
dramatic  performance  at  the  shrine  of  Chu  Yuan-chang 
on  the  15th  of  February,  1912. 

An  interesting  and  little-known  result  of  the  tribulations 
and  vicissitudes  of  the  fugitive  Ming  Court,  was  that 
many  of  the  Imperial  clanswomen  sought  consolation, 
and  probably  hoped  to  find  practical  benefits  of  European 
intervention,  from  the  practice  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
religion.  When  we  remember  how  great  had  been  the 
influence  of  the  Jesuit  fathers  (Schall,  Ricci,  Yerbiest 
and  others)  under  the  last  of  the  Ming  Emperors  at  Peking 
— an  influence  which  made  itself  felt,  as  we  have  seen,  in 
secular  and  military  matters— it  is  not  remarkable  that 
their  immediate  posterity  should  have  founded  some  hopes 
on  a  continuance  of  cordial  relations  with  the  Roman 
Catholic  priests,  who  at  that  time  were  zealously  propa¬ 
gating  their  faith,  not  only  at  Peking,  but  in  the  southern 
provinces.  The  Portuguese  colony  of  Macao  was  a  very 
important  headquarters  of  Jesuit  missionary  work,  and 
during  the  earlier  years  of  Yung  Li’s  struggle  for  the 

221 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


recovery  of  the  Throne,  while  his  forces  were  endeavouring 
to  hold  Kuangtung,  a  German  Jesuit,  named  Andrew 
Xavier  Koffler,  was  attached  to  the  Ming  Court.  As  the 
result  of  the  labours  of  this  earnest  worker  in  a  truly 
grateful  soil,  Yung  Li’s  wife  and  mother  embraced,  and 
openly  professed,  the  faith,  and  their  example  was  followed 
not  only  by  many  of  the  secondary  consorts,  but  by 
several  eunuchs,  by  over  a  hundred  members  of  the  Im¬ 
perial  Clan  and  forty  high  officials.  All  these,  as  was  duly 
reported  to  the  Vatican,  were  baptised.  Yung  Li’s  titular 
Empress  Dowager  received  the  baptismal  name  of  Helen, 
the  Heir  Apparent  that  of  Constantine,  the  Empress 
Mother  that  of  Mary,  and  his  Consort  that  of  Anne.  Yung 
Li  himself  never  became  a  convert,  because,  like  his 
ancestors,  he  was  a  confirmed  polygamist,  and  could  not 
be  persuaded  to  give  up  his  harem. 

In  the  year  1649,  the  Empress  Helen,  acting  upon  the 
advice  of  Father  Koffler  and  her  Chief  Eunuch,  “  P’an 
Achilles  ”  (who  appears  to  have  been  a  sincerely  devout 
Catholic),  sent  an  envoy  to  the  head  of  the  Church  at 
Macao  desiring  that  a  special  mass  should  be  celebrated 
in  thanksgiving  for  the  restoration  to  health  of  the  Heir 
Apparent,  and  incidentally  to  pray  for  the  restoration  of 
the  Ming  dynasty.  On  this  interesting  occasion  the 
Governor  of  Macao  gave  a  banquet  in  honour  of  the 
Imperial  envoy  and  made  him  a  present,  useful  and 
significant,  of  a  hundred  muskets. 

In  November  of  the  following  year  it  was  decided  to 
send  a  mission  via  Goa  to  the  Vatican.  The  Empress 
Helen  addressed  a  letter  to  Pope  Innocent  X  in  her  own 
very  indifferent  handwriting,  announcing  her  conversion 
to  the  true  faith  and  that  of  the  mother  and  wife  of 
the  Emperor.  The  text  of  this  interesting  document 
was  first  published  in  a  work  by  the  Jesuit  Athanasius 
Kirchner  at  Amsterdam  in  1666.  ( China  monumentis, 

qua  sacriSy  qua  profanis ,  etc.)  Father  Dominic  and 

222 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


another  Jesuit  priest  and  two  Chinese  Christians  were 
entrusted  with  this  mission  to  the  Vatican ;  they  also  bore 
letters  addressed  to  the  Society  of  Jesus  at  Rome.  Owing 
to  many  difficulties  and  delays  they  did  not  reach  Italy, 
travelling  overland  via  Persia  and  the  Levant,  until  the 
summer  of  1652.  In  Rome,  too,  they  met  with  unex¬ 
pected  obstacles,  and  it  was  not  until  1655,  that  Pope 
Alexander  VII  consented  to  receive  the  mission  in  audience 
and  gave  them  replies  in  the  form  of  letters  addressed  to 
the  Empress  Helen  and  the  eunuch  P’an.  With  these 
the  envoys  returned  in  due  course  to  China.  The  Em¬ 
press’s  letter  to  Pope  Innocent  and  another  from  the 
eunuch  are  still  preserved  in  the  archives  at  the  Vatican.1 

The  Empress  Helen’s  letter  contains  little  beyond  general 
expressions  of  piety  and  goodwill,  but  that  of  P’an 
Achilles  records  the  interesting  fact  that  this  eunuch, 
then  sixty-two  years  of  age,  was  in  command  of  all  the 
land  and  sea  forces  of  the  Mings  in  the  provinces  of  Fukhien 
and  Kuangtung ;  commander  also  of  the  Imperial  Guard, 
with  full  powers  over  the  financial  and  commissariat 
departments,  Master  of  the  Ceremonies,  and  Guardian  of 
the  State  Seal.  Which  proves  that  the  last  of  the  Mings 
had  learned  little  wisdom  from  adversity. 

With  the  death  of  Yung  Li,  bowstringed  at  the  furthest 
frontiers  of  the  Empire,  the  Manchu  dynasty’s  rights  to 
rule  China  were  no  longer  disputed  by  any  legitimate 
claimant,  and  the  splendid  recuperative  powers  of  the 
Chinese  people,  fostered  and  guided  by  the  wise  govern¬ 
ment  of  the  Emperor  K’ang  Hsi,  speedily  brought  about 
an  era  of  great  prosperity  and  a  widespread  revival  of  art, 
literature  and  commerce.  We  shall  now  proceed  to 
consider  some  of  the  most  notable  events  and  principal 
motive  forces  in  the  lives  of  the  Manchu  Sovereigns, 
elucidating  as  far  as  possible  the  causes  of  the  dynasty’s 

1  An  English  translation  of  both  documents  was  published  by 
Mr.  E.  H.  Parker  in  the  Contemporary  Review  of  January  1912. 

223 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


gradual  decline  in  virility  and  statesmanship ;  endeav¬ 
ouring,  by  means  of  the  documents  at  our  disposal,  to 
throw  new  light  on  the  personal  relations,  human  equa¬ 
tions  and  domestic  affairs  which  affected  the  policies  of 
China’s  rulers  in  the  first  instance,  and  eventually  the 
destinies  of  the  nation. 

But  before  concluding  this  review  of  the  last  years  of 
the  Ming  dynasty,  we  would  refer  once  again  to  the  part 
which  the  superstitious  belief  of  the  Chinese  in  prophecies 
and  omens  has  always  played,  and  still  plays,  in  every 
national  crisis.  A  proverb  or  a  prophecy,  current  in  the 
market  places  and  tea-shops  of  the  provinces,  carries  far 
greater  weight  than  Imperial  edicts  in  determining  the 
popular  attitude  in  any  great  emergency.  For  this  reason 
certain  prophecies  which  foretold  long  ago,  in  language 
very  similar  to  that  of  Old  Moore,  the  collapse  of  the  Ming 
dynasty  and  the  destinies  of  the  Manchus,  have  always 
stirred  the  popular  imagination,  and  affected  public 
opinion,  to  a  degree  which  Europeans  of  the  present  day 
can  hardly  imagine. 

One  of  the  most  widely  spread  of  these  prophecies  has 
long  been  known  in  China  as  “The  Song  of  the  Cakes.” 
It  is  generally  believed  to  have  been  composed  by  Chu 
Yiian-chang,  the  founder  of  the  Ming  dynasty,  shortly 
after  his  accession  to  the  Throne,  and  it  is  supposed 
to  foretell  the  fate  of  the  dynasty,  the  coming  of  the 
eight  Manchu  banners,  and  the  final  overthrow  of  the 
Manchu  power.  The  last  lines  of  this  effusion  run  as 
follows  : 

“  Ten-mouthed  women,1  with  grass  on  their  heads,  once 
more  carry  a  babe  in  their  arms  to  be  lord  over  the  Empire. 

“  The  eight  banner  flags  find  it  hard  to  escape  from  the 
Japanese  devils. 

1  Ten-mouthed  women  :  i.  e.Yehonala — (meaning  Tzu  Hsi  and  Lung 
Yii).  The  first  character  of  the  name  Yehonala  has  the  sign  for 
“  grass  ”  at  the  top,  and  below  it  the  signs  for  “  ten  ”  and  “  a  mouth.” 

224 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


44  In  the  provinces  of  Hunan-Hupei,  a  wondrous  being 
shall  arise. 

“  A  red  pear  tree,  with  a  round  hole  in  the  middle  of 
its  fruit,  shall  startle  the  slave-son’s  descendants. 

“  A  monkey  shall  stand  in  the  central  place  and  drive 
forth  the  little  child. 

44  A  woman  shall  enter  the  room,  bearing  a  son  in  her 
arms ;  another  woman  shall  leave  the  room,  bearing  a  son 
in  her  arms. 

“  The  grandson’s  reign  shall  be  brief.  In  the  sky  a 
yellow  star  shall  shine.” 

To  understand  the  manner  in  which  such  prophecies 
appeal  to  the  Chinese,  scholars  and  common  people  alike, 
it  is  necessary  to  possess  a  knowledge  of  the  written 
language,  for  all  the  hidden  meanings  of  such  utterances, 
actual  or  alleged,  depend  upon  an  ingenious  and  often 
far-fetched  play  upon  words.  The  pundits,  who  claim 
that  the  above  prophecy  refers  to  the  overthrow  of  the 
Manchus  by  the  recent  revolutionary  movement,  aver, 
for  instance,  that  the  44  red  pear  tree  with  the  round  hole 
in  the  middle  of  the  fruit,”  etc.,  can  only  refer  to  Li 
Yuan-hung,  the  present  Vice-president  of  the  Republic, 
because  the  44  Li  ”  in  his  name  is  identical  in  sound  with 
the  word  44  Li  ”  for  a  pear,  while  Hung  is  44  red  ”  and 
Yuan  is  identical  in  sound  with  44  round.”  And  the 
slave-son  is  Nurhachi,  because  the  first  two  Chinese 
characters  in  his  name  (nu  erh)  mean  44  slave-son.”  To 
Western  minds  this  sort  of  thing  may  seem  fantastic 
gibberish,  but  to  the  Chinese  it  is  extraordinarily  con¬ 
vincing.  For  a  similar  reason  44  a  monkey  ”  is  Yuan  Shih- 
k’ai ;  the  44  driving  out  of  the  infant  ”  refers  to  the  Manchu 
abdication;  the  44  grandson  ”  is  Sun  Yat-sen,  the  44  yellow 
star  ”  is  Huang  Hsing,  and  44  the  woman  leaving  the  room  ” 
is  the  Empress  Lung  Yu  with  the  baby  Hsfian  T’ung, 
the  woman  entering  the  room  being  Shun  Chih’s  mother.1 

1  Cf.  Dr.  Arthur  Smith’s  Chinese  Proverbs,  new  edition,  p.  325. 
q  225 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


The  importance  of  prophecies  like  this  lies  not  in  the 
interpretation  which  scholars  or  journalists  may  choose 
to  give  to  them,  but  to  the  indisputable  fact  that  the 
common  people  know  and  vaguely  believe  in  them.  If, 
on  the  authority  of  “The  Song  of  the  Cakes,”  the  man  in 
the  street  persuades  himself  that  Huang  Hsing’s  appearance 
on  the  scene  is  an  event  fraught  with  vast  issues,  that 
unscrupulous  adventurer  starts  with  an  advantage  which 
neither  wealth  nor  personal  merit  could  confer.  Readers 
of  China  under  the  Empress  Dowager  may  remember 
that  Tzu  Hsi  herself  often  displayed  superstition  as  gross 
as  that  of  the  commonest  coolie  in  the  land,  and  that  many 
a  vital  step  in  her  career  was  determined  upon  the  advice 
of  charlatan  soothsayers  and  astrologers.  In  studying 
the  lives  of  China’s  rulers,  whether  Ming  or  Manchu,  it  is 
necessary  to  bear  in  mind  this  deep-rooted  characteristic 
of  the  race. 


END  OF  PART  I 


PART  II 


THE  MANCHU  DYNASTY 


CHAPTER  IX 


THE  EMPEROR  SHUN  CHIH 

There  is  comparatively  little  material  in  contemporary 
annals  and  memoirs  which  bears  upon  the  life  of  the 
Sovereign  and  his  Court  during  the  first  reign  of  the  Manchu 
dynasty,  that  of  the  Emperor  Shun  Chih.  The  fact  is 
readily  explicable  in  several  ways.  In  the  first  place, 
although  the  history  of  Shun  Chill’s  reign  covers  a  period 
of  seventeen  years  from  the  date  of  his  accession  to  the 
Throne  of  China,  he  was  only  twenty-three  years  of  age 
when  he  passed  from  the  scene.  During  the  Regency  of 
his  uncle,  Prince  Jui,  and  until  the  latter’s  death  in 
December  1650,  the  Lord  of  Heaven  was  only  a  little 
lad,  interested  in  hunting  and  in  hearing  the  day’s  news 
of  the  Manchu  army’s  victorious  progress  through  the 
central  and  southern  provinces,  carefully  tended  by  his 
mother  and  the  Imperial  tutors.  When,  three  months 
after  the  death  of  the  Regent,  he  assumed  nominal  control 
of  the  business  of  the  State,  he  was  an  intelligent  youth  of 
twelve,  but  the  high  spirits  which  had  marked  his  child¬ 
hood  had  already  given  place  to  the  contemplative  and 
serious  temperament  which  became  intensified  with  each 
succeeding  year.  One  of  his  first  edicts,  after  assuming 
the  actual  direction  of  the  Government,  prescribed  certain 
regulations  for  controlling  admission  to  the  priesthood  and 
supervising  the  training  of  candidates.  He  concerned 
himself  actively,  too,  with  public  education  and  the 
revision  of  the  system  of  examinations  for  degrees.  The 

229 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


Court  was  eminently  respectable,  and  perhaps  even  a  little 
dull,  under  the  first  of  the  Manchus,  but  no  doubt  the 
citizens  of  Peking  were  glad  enough  to  be  rid  of  the  wild 
extravagance  and  debauches  which  had  disgraced  it  under 
the  Mings. 

An  essay,  published  since  the  abdication  of  the  Mancliu 
dynasty  by  a  Chinese  historical  writer  who  signs  himself 
“  Born  out  of  time,”  sets  out  to  prove  that  Shun  Chih 
was  illegitimate,  and  that  the  rulers  of  the  House  of  Gioro, 
beginning  with  Shun  Chih  and  ending  with  Kuang  Hsu, 
had  no  better  claim  to  pure  blood  than  those  of  the  House 
of  Romanov.  He  asserts  that  the  father  of  Shun  Chih 
was  not  the  Emperor  T’ai  Tsung,  but  a  Chinese  hunter, 
named  Wang.  The  evidence  with  which  he  supports 
this  statement  can  scarcely  be  called  even  circumstantial. 
The  writings  of  “  Born  out  of  time  ”  prove  him  to  be  one 
of  those  typical  products  of  Young  China,  in  whom  self- 
interest  and  an  emotional  kind  of  patriotism  combine  to 
produce  a  blind  hatred  of  the  Manchus.  His  work  is  marked 
by  the  same  quality  of  reckless  vituperation  as  that  of 
Wen  Ch’ing  and  K’ang  Yu-wei,  and  contains  more  evidence 
of  constructive  memory  than  of  historical  research.  Never¬ 
theless,  the  fact  is  important  that  many  Chinese  write 
and  many  more  believe,  fantastic  legends  of  the  kind  upon 
which  “  Born  out  of  time  ”  bases  his  assertion  that  the 
Emperors  Shun  Chih,  Yung  Cheng,  Ch’ien  Lung  and 
Kuang  Hsii  were  all  illegitimate,  and  born  of  Chinese 
fathers.  We  reproduce  his  account  of  the  birth  of  Shun 
Chih  not,  as  the  Imperial  edicts  say,  “  for  purposes  of 
historical  accuracy,”  but  as  an  illustration  of  Young 
China’s  historical  methods. 

“  Shortly  after  the  capture  of  Moukden  by  the  Manchus,” 
he  says,  “  there  arrived  in  the  thinly  populated  district 
of  Fu  Chou  a  family  of  settlers  named  Wang,  driven  from 
their  native  province  of  Shantung  by  poverty.  Their 
son  Wang  Kao  became  a  mighty  hunter.  One  day,  in 

230 


An  Imperial  Journey  under  the  Sung  Dynasty. 

{From  a  scroll  painting  by  Liang  Kai  Kai  [thirteenth  century],  in  the  collection  of  Charles  L.  Freer,  Esq.  at  Detroit.) 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 

1637,  the  Lady  Borjikitu,  a  favourite  concubine  of  T’ai 
Tsung,  was  with  her  maids  in  the  forest,  hunting  the 
stag;  like  most  Mongol  women,  she  was  an  expert  horse¬ 
woman  and  huntress.  She  had  shot  three  times  at  a 
magnificent  stag  and  missed,  when  Wang  Kao  appeared 
upon  the  scene,  and  with  him  a  comrade  called  Teng, 
nicknamed  the  ‘  large- thighed.’  The  deer  rushed 
through  the  forest  straight  towards  Wang,  who  promptly 
shot  it  dead.  When  Lady  Borjikitu  reached  the  spot 
she  was  greatly  impressed  by  Wang’s  fine  figure  and 
pleasing  features  and,  after  asking  him  a  few  questions 
as  to  his  origin,  engaged  both  him  and  ‘  Large-thighed  ’ 
Teng,  and  took  them  back  with  her  to  Moukden,  appoint¬ 
ing  them  to  her  special  bodyguard.  Thereafter  Wang 
was  her  constant  attendant  on  hunting  expeditions. 
Soon  an  intimacy  sprang  up  between  them,  and  when 
in  March  of  the  following  year  she  gave  birth  to  Fulin 
(who  reigned  later  as  Shun  Chili)  most  people  believed 
that  Wang  was  the  father.  Shun  Chih  was  an  exception¬ 
ally  robust  youngster,  and  could  lift  heavy  weights  when 
only  four  years  old.  T’ai  Tsung,  well  aware  of  his  origin, 
had  Teng  assassinated  for  fear  of  his  betraying  the  secret. 
He  was  murdered  by  hired  bravos  on  the  road  leading 
out  of  Moukden  towards  Liao  yang.  To  this  day  there 
is  a  popular  phrase  in  Moukden  which  refers  to  the  murder 
of  Teng.  They  say  to  4  send  Large-thighed  Teng  about 
his  business,’  meaning  to  get  rid  of  any  kind  of  incubus 
by  giving  it  the  ‘  happy  dispatch.’  A  little  later  Wang 
Kao  himself  was  assassinated  by  T’ai  Tsung’s  order,  and 
legend  avers  that  his  ghost  walked  in  the  Moukden  Palace 
until  appeased  by  the  young  Prince  Fulin  kneeling  before 
his  coffin  and  acknowledging  him  as  his  father.  After 
this  filial  recognition,  they  say,  T’ai  Tsung  was  troubled 
no  more.  He  gave  orders  for  Wang  Kao’s  burial  in  the 
family  mausoleum  of  Nurhachi,  and  the  saying  goes  that 
he  is  included  to  this  day  among  the  family  heroes 

231 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


worshipped  in  the  Manchu  dynasty’s  private  1  shrine  at 
Peking,  where  the  Emperor  used  to  make  obeisance  on 
the  morning  of  the  second  day  of  the  year.  Common 
rumour  also  alleges  that  on  the  occasion  of  Imperial 
visits  to  the  Moukden  mausolea,  where  Nurhachi  and  his 
son  are  buried,  a  special  sacrifice  has  always  been  offered 
to  the  memory  of  Wang  Kao.  An  adage  in  Moukden 
itself  says  :  ‘  The  Emperor  first  pays  obeisance  to  Wang 
Kao  and  then  to  the  Imperial  tombs.’  On  the  Long 
White  Mountain  there  is  a  memorial  tablet  recounting 
Wang’s  history,  though  naturally  it  contains  no  reference 
to  his  relations  with  the  proud  house  of  Gioro.” 

So  much  for  the  latest  annalists.  Nevertheless,  the 
fact  remains  that  there  is  nothing  in  contemporary  history 
or  literature  which  gives  colour  to  these  attempts  to 
besmirch  the  founders  of  the  dynasty,  and  that  the 
reign  of  Shun  Chih  himself  was  singularly  free  from  all 
sorts  of  chroniques  scandaleuses  and  evil  report. 

The  personal  character  of  the  Emperor  and  his  youth 
go  far  to  account  for  the  absence  of  scandal  and  intrigue 
at  Peking  during  the  reign  of  Shun  Chih,  but  the  factor 
which  undoubtedly  contributed  more  than  all  others  to 
give  the  Court  its  happy  immunity  from  treasons,  strata¬ 
gems  and  spoils,  lay  in  the  relegation  of  the  Palace  eunuchs 
to  their  proper  position  as  menials,  and  in  the  dynastic 
house-laws,  instituted  by  the  Regent  shortly  after  the 
Manchu  accession,  which  sternly  forbade  their  employ¬ 
ment  in  any  official  capacity.  After  the  fall  of  Peking, 
many  of  the  “  rats  and  foxes  ”  who  had  debauched  and 
degraded  the  Court  of  the  Mings,  and  battened  on  the 
vices  of  the  licentious  Clansmen,  had  either  fled  to  their 
homes  at  Ho  Chien-fu,  or  had  followed  the  fortunes 
of  the  Chinese  dynasty  to  Nanking  and  further  South. 
Those  who  remained,  to  take  service  under  the  new 

1  The  site  of  the  shrine  has  been  occupied  since  1900  by  the  Italian 
Legation. 


232 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 

regime ,  found  their  influence  and  their  perquisites  lament¬ 
ably  reduced ;  and  with  them  vanished  the  intrigues 
and  the  insolences  which  had  distinguished  the  followers 
of  Wei  Chung-hsien.  For  a  breathing  space  the  For¬ 
bidden  City  was  cleansed  of  its  chief  source  of  evil. 

The  Regent,  Prince  Jui,  fourteenth  son  of  Nurhachi, 
died,  as  we  have  shown,  in  December  1650,  killed,  near 
Kalgan,  by  an  accident  whilst  engaged  in  his  favourite 
sport  of  hunting,  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-nine.  The  boy 
Emperor  was  sincerely  grieved  at  the  loss  of  his  uncle, 
who  for  seven  years  had  been  the  guiding  spirit  in  the 
counsels  of  the  Manchus.  He  issued  an  edict,  in  which 
the  many  virtues  of  the  deceased  were  eloquently  re¬ 
corded,  and  went  out  to  meet  the  body  when  it  was 
brought  back  to  Peking.  But  no  sooner  was  the  masterful 
Prince  dead,  than  certain  of  the  Manchu  Princes  and 
nobles,  who  had  always  been  opposed  to  his  usurpation 
of  the  Regency,  denounced  him  on  charges  amounting 
to  high  treason,  and  demanded  the  rescindment  of  the 
posthumous  honours  conferred  upon  him  by  the  Throne. 
They  accused  him,  not  only  of  having  habitually  assumed 
Imperial  prerogatives,  but  of  having  plotted  with  his 
immediate  followers  to  depose  his  nephew-ward  and 
to  seize  the  Throne  for  himself.  Later  on,  further  accusa¬ 
tions  were  brought  against  him;  he  was  charged  with 
having  appropriated  rich  jewels  belonging  to  the  Throne, 
and  it  was  said  that  a  certain  necklace  which  had  belonged 
to  Nurhachi  had  been  buried  with  him,  by  his  orders. 
Upon  formal  investigation  these  grave  charges  proved 
to  be  substantially  true,  and  the  young  Emperor  was 
compelled,  much  to  his  regret,  to  record  a  solemn  decree 
of  censure  and  degradation  against  his  illustrious  relative. 
The  name  of  Prince  Jui  and  that  of  his  mother,  the  Concu¬ 
bine  Wala-nala,  were  removed  from  the  roll  of  the  Imperial 
clans,  and  all  their  titles  and  dignities  were  posthumously 
cancelled.  Thus  early  came  the  canker  of  personal 

233 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


ambition  to  breed  disruption  in  the  fine  flower  of  the 
Manchu  aristocracy.  The  disgrace  that  fell  upon  the 
Regent’s  memory  was  keenly  felt,  not  only  by  his  con¬ 
temporaries,  but  by  the  descendants  of  Nurhachi,  so  much 
so,  that  more  than  a  hundred  years  afterwards  we  find 
the  Emperor  Ch’ien  Lung  taking  steps  to  restore  Prince 
Jui’s  name  and  fame.  In  the  forty-third  year  of  his 
reign  (1778)  this  Monarch  issued  an  edict  intended  “to 
attain  historical  accuracy,”  much  in  the  same  way  as 
the  great  Tzii  Hsi  attained  it,  by  retrospectively  cancelling 
all  her  Boxer  edicts,  in  February  1901.  Ch’ien  Lung 
came  to  the  conclusion,  after  carefully  considering  the 
case,  that  Prince  Jui  had  been  unjustly  accused,  and  he 
therefore  made  full  restitution  of  his  honours  and  dignities, 
restored  his  tablet  to  its  place  in  the  temple  of  ancestors 
and  re-established  the  Princedom  of  Jui  in  the  person  of 
Ch’un  Ying,  his  descendant  in  the  fifth  generation.  This 
princedom  is  now  the  second  in  rank  of  the  hereditary  nobles.1 

Shun  Chih  was  married  at  the  age  of  fifteen  to  the 
Empress  Tung  Cilia,  mother  of  K’ang  Hsi,  who  died  two 
years  after  her  son’s  accession.  Of  this  lady’s  virtues 
or  failings  the  chroniclers  record  little  that  is  of  interest. 
This  may  be  due  to  the  fact  that,  during  the  few  years 
of  the  Sovereign’s  married  life,  he  was  completely  under 
the  influence  of  his  favourite  concubine,  the  Lady  Tung, 
a  woman  who  seems  to  have  combined  unusual  physical 
attractions  with  literary  accomplishments  of  a  high 
order  and  a  very  masterful  disposition.  A  Chinese 
commentator  goes  so  far  as  to  describe  her  as  meddlesome 
(which  he  considers  a  peculiarly  feminine  failing),  and 
declares  that  she  was  wont  to  admonish  the  whole  Court 
on  festive  occasions  to  spare  the  drink,  to  dine  wisely 
and  not  too  well.  She  considered  it  her  duty  to  keep 

1  The  present  holder  of  the  title  is  a  typically  degenerate  specimen 
of  the  latter  day  Manchu  aristocracy,  whose  opium-smoking  pro¬ 
clivities  recently  formed  the  subject,  of  official  investigation. 

234 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


the  Emperor  up  to  the  mark  in  his  public  and  private 
life;  she  insisted  upon  his  reading  the  whole  text  of 
routine  business  memorials  without  skipping,  and  the 
Emperor  himself  recorded  (in  an  epitaph  which  partakes 
of  the  nature  of  a  full  obituary  notice)  that  she  was 
accustomed,  before  retiring  for  the  night,  to  see  for 
herself  that  the  Imperial  bedchamber  was  not  overheated. 

The  Lady  Tung  was  evidently  good,  and  she  died 
young,  in  the  autumn  of  1661.  Her  death  affected  Shun 
Chih  with  uncontrollable  grief,  from  which  he  never 
recovered.  The  chronicler  above  mentioned  naively  re¬ 
marks  that  His  Majesty’s  regret  for  her  loss  seems  to 
have  been  perfectly  genuine,  whereby  he  is  greatly  dis¬ 
tinguished  amongst  Imperial  husbands,  “  who  generally 
rejoice  at  the  death  of  their  consorts.”  In  the  epitaph 
to  which  we  have  referred,  Shun  Chih  indicates  the 
breadth  and  depth  of  his  lady’s  virtue  by  citing  the  fact 
that  she  invariably  declined  his  invitations  to  supper,  but 
would  urge  him  to  allow  his  chief  Ministers  to  join  him 
at  the  table ;  a  statement  which  tends  to  show  that  the 
Court  etiquette  of  the  Manchus  in  those  days  was  far 
less  strict  than  it  became  at  a  later  period,  when  they  had 
assimilated  the  punctilious  formalities  of  the  classical 
Chinese  code  of  manners. 

According  to  the  official  annals  of  the  dynasty,  Shun 
Chih  died  and  was  buried  in  the  winter  of  1661,  that  is 
to  say,  only  a  few  months  before  the  last  of  the  Mings 
was  bowstringed  at  Yiinnan-fu.  The  Lady  Tung  had 
“  gone  before  ”  in  the  autumn  of  that  year.  But  there 
appears  to  be  good  reason  for  doubting  the  dynastic 
annals  in  this  matter  of  his  death,  and  for  sharing  the 
belief,  widely  held  by  Chinese  scholars,  that  the  young 
Emperor,  pining  for  his  lost  mistress  and  weary  of  the 
dull  routine  of  statecraft,  voluntarily  handed  over  the 
Government  to  four  of  his  Ministers  (acting  as  joint 
Regents  for  his  youthful  son,  K’ang  Hsi)  and  retired  to 

235 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


the  contemplative  life  of  the  priesthood.  This  story, 
naturally  enough,  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  dynastic 
records,  since  the  priesthood  is  held  in  little  reverence 
by  the  literati,  and  its  admission  would  have  cast  a  slur 
on  the  Emperor  and  the  Imperial  Clan ;  but  the  circum¬ 
stantial  evidence  which  supports  it,  in  the  writings  of 
contemporary  poets  and  others,  is  very  strong.  One, 
who  is  frequently  quoted,  wrote,  “  He  threw  away  the 
Empire  as  one  who  casts  away  a  worn-out  shoe;  he 
rejected  the  sovereignty  thrust  upon  him  in  this  incarna¬ 
tion,  and,  following  the  example  of  the  Lord  Buddha, 
preferred  to  seek  the  mystic  solitudes.”  There  is  no 
doubt  that  the  Emperor  became  imbued  in  his  early 
youth  with  strong  leanings  towards  the  Buddhistic  ideal 
of  renunciation,  and  that  he  is  known  to  have  written, 
amongst  other  things,  the  following  antithetical  couplets  : 

“  The  future  is  as  dark  to  me  as  the  past  out  of  which 
I  have  come; 

“  Vainly  have  I  lived  through  one  existence  in  this 
world  of  men; 

“  I  have  yearned  to  become  a  devoted  follower  of  the 
Lord  Buddha; 

“  Why,  then,  do  I  still  hanker  after  the  vanities  of 
the  Imperial  Throne  ?  ” 

It  is  also  recorded  that,  shortly  before  his  disappearance 
from  the  scene,  he  told  Ao  Pai,  one  of  the  four  Ministers 
subsequently  appointed  to  act  as  Regents  for  his  successor, 
that  he  hoped  to  kneel  amongst  the  crowd  which  should 
witness  the  ceremonial  procession  of  the  new  Emperor, 
his  son ;  much  in  the  same  way  that  Alexander  I  of  Russia 
told  his  sister-in-law,  the  wife  of  his  successor,  Nicholas  I, 
that  he  hoped,  after  his  abdication  and  taking  of  religious 
vows,  to  witness  their  coronation  procession  in  Moscow.1 

1  Vide  The  Legend  concerning  the  decease  of  Alexander  I,  in  Siberia, 
in  the  guise  of  the  monk  Theodore.  By  the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas. 
(Petersburg,  1907.) 


236 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


It  is  certainly  the  common  belief  amongst  Chinese 
students  of  history  that  the  Emperor  Shun  Chih  did 
not  die  in  1661,  as  the  annals  have  it,  but  that  he  arranged 
with  his  Ministers  that  he  should  vacate  the  Throne 
and  conceal  his  identity  in  that  of  the  Abbot  of  the  T’ien 
T’ai  temple,  which  lies  amongst  the  hills,  fourteen  miles 
to  the  west  of  Peking.  It  was  said  by  contemporary 
writers  that  the  Abbot  bore  an  extraordinary  resemblance 
to  the  Emperor,  and  to  this  day  the  temple  contains  a 
life-sized  gilt  mummy  statue  of  a  priest,  some  thirty  years 
of  age,  whose  features  are  unmistakably  of  the  Manchu 
type. 

The  illustration  on  the  opposite  page  is  from  a  photo¬ 
graph  of  this  statue.  It  differs  from  the  ordinary 
mummies  of  Buddhist  bonzes  in  that  it  is  clad  in  yellow 
Dragon  robes  instead  of  the  usual  red  Kachaya  vestments. 
It  is  alleged  by  tradition  that  the  Dragon  robes  were  sent 
by  K’ang  Hsi.  The  priests  of  the  shrine  also  show  the 
large  vat  in  which  the  body  was  dried.  The  features  of 
this  mummy  are  covered  with  dark  brown  lacquer, 
whereas  the  usual  procedure  is  to  gild  them.  Finally, 
tradition  declares  that  the  Emperor  K’ang  Hsi  visited 
the  temple  on  three  occasions,  and  paid  his  respects 
to  the  Abbot,  who  did  not  kneel  to  the  Sovereign  as 
custom  would  have  required  in  the  case  of  an  ordinary 
priest.  When,  in  1670,  the  Abbot  passed  away,  K’ang 
Hsi  had  a  life-sized  presentment  of  him  cast  in  bronze, 
and  sent  presents  of  pearls  and  jewels  to  be  buried  in 
his  tomb. 

The  stone  dagoba  under  which  he  is  said  to  lie  is  still 
standing,  and  every  year  the  temple  is  opened  to  the 
faithful,  who  come  to  prostrate  themselves  at  the  shrine 
in  the  full  belief  that  here  a  Lord  of  Heaven  lies  buried. 
Those  who  have  compared  the  image  of  the  Abbot  of 
T’ien  T’ai-ssii  with  the  picture  of  Shun  Chih  in  the  collec¬ 
tion  of  dynastic  portraits  in  the  Hall  of  Imperial  Longevity 

237 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


(which  adjoins  the  Coal  Hill  of  the  Forbidden  City)  have 
testified  to  the  remarkable  resemblance. 

But  whether  he  departed  this  life  or  not  Shun  Chih 
vacated  the  Throne  at  the  age  of  twenty-three,  leaving 
his  son,  a  boy  of  seven,  to  the  care  of  four  of  his 
Ministers.  This  child  was  destined  to  reign  over  China 
for  sixty-one  years,  and  to  confer  enduring  fame  on  the 
Manchu  dynasty. 


238 


CHAPTER  X 


K’ANG  HSI  AS  A  FATHER 

The  character  of  this  famous  Emperor,  his  wise  govern¬ 
ment,  his  prowess  in  war  and  sport,  his  deep  learning, 
multitudinous  paternity  and  kind  heart,  all  these  have 
been  described  in  the  works  of  the  Jesuit  fathers,  who 
until  towards  the  end  of  his  reign,  held  positions  of  dignity 
and  influence  at  the  Court  of  Peking.  Naturally  enough, 
many  of  these  descriptions  suffer  from  the  theological 
bias  of  class,  but,  generally  speaking,  they  are  the  work 
of  broad-minded  and  sympathetic  men,  and  show  the 
Emperor  K’ang  Hsi  in  a  kindlier  light  than  that  which 
usually  beats  upon  a  Throne.  Indeed,  kindness  of  heart 
seems  to  have  been  his  most  prominent  quality,  combined 
with  a  very  clear  perception  of  the  truth  that  China’s 
ruler  must  be  firm.  From  the  account  of  five  voyages 
into  Tartary,1  on  which  the  French  Jesuit  Gerbillon 
(mandarin  of  the  third  class)  travelled  in  the  suite  of  the 
Emperor  between  the  years  1691  and  1697,  the  student 
of  history  may  gather  much  to  explain  the  revival  of  art 
and  literature  which  distinguished  this  period,  and  learn 
to  admire,  at  close  range,  the  character  of  a  Monarch 
truly  great.  Jean  Franyois  Gerbillon,  mathematician  and 
writer,  shared  with  the  Portuguese,  Anthoine  Pereira,  a 
degree  of  Imperial  favour  as  high  as  that  which  His 
Majesty  had  previously  given  to  Verbiest,  the  astronomer 

1  See  Histoire  Generate  de  la  Chine ,  par  le  Pere  Mailla  de  la  Societe 
de  Jesus,  Vol.  XI.  (Paris,  1780.) 

239 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


and  reviser  of  the  calendar.  In  1693,  they  had  introduced 
quinine  to  the  notice  of  the  Court  physicians,  when  K’ang 
Hsi  was  dangerously  ill  of  a  fever,  and  he  had  shown  his 
gratitude  by  granting  them  permission  and  money  to 
build  a  church,  and  had  given  them  a  house  inside  the 
Palace  enclosure.  Even  before  this,  however,  greatly 
impressed  by  the  virtue  and  learning  of  priests  like 
Philippe  Grimaldi,  Jean  de  Fontaney,  Joachim  Bouvet, 
Louis  le  Comte  and  Claude  de  Visdelon,  he  had  issued  his 
famous  Edict  of  Toleration  (1692),  which  gave  so  great  an 
impetus  to  the  spread  of  Christianity  in  China,  until  the 
internal  dissensions  between  the  Jesuits  and  Dominicans 
led  him  to  rescind  it  and  to  withdraw  his  favour  from  the 
missionaries. 

The  efforts  of  the  Jesuits  to  convert  K’ang  Hsi  and  the 
Heir  Apparent  were  discreet  but  unceasing.  They  en¬ 
deavoured  to  convince  him  and  to  win  him  to  the  true 
faith  by  appeals  to  his  intelligence,  by  continual  demonstra¬ 
tion  of  the  Europeans’  superiority  in  the  arts  and  sciences ; 
and  for  a  time  it  seemed  as  if  they  might  eventually  be 
successful.  In  1693,  we  find  Father  Fontaney  sending  a 
letter  to  his  Abbe  by  the  hand  of  Father  Bouvet,  in  which 
he  describes  K’ang  Hsi  as  “  ce  merveilleux  Prince,  a  qui 
rien  ne  manque  que  d’etre  Chretien  pour  etre  un  des  plus 
accomplis  monarques  de  la  terre.”  1  He  adds  the  follow¬ 
ing  significant  reference  to  the  Heir  Apparent :  “  Le 

Prince  Heritier,  que  nous  appelons  ici  Hoang-Tai-Tie, 
age  de  21  ans,  nous  a  marque  aussi  qu’il  desiroit  quelque 
bel  horloge  de  France,2  qui  sonne  les  heures  et  les  quarts. 

1  Lettres  sur  les  Progres  de  la  Religion  a  la  Chine.  (Paris,  1698.) 

2  Many  clocks,  watches  and  musical-boxes  of  French  manufacture, 
decorated  with  ormulu  and  Limoges  enamel,  found  their  way  to 
Peking  in  the  seventeenth  century,  after  the  first  specimens  had  been 
presented  to  the  Throne  and  Court  by  the  Jesuit  fathers.  Many  of 
them  were  brought  back  to  Europe,  after  the  looting  of  the  Summer 
Palace  by  the  British  and  French  armies  in  1860,  and  more  again  after 
the  looting  of  the  city  in  1900. 


240 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


Ce  Prince  regnera  un  jour,  et  il  est  deja  bien  intentionne 
pour  nous;  et  il  est  important  de  le  gagner  tout  a  fait.” 

News  of  this  kind,  sent  to  Europe  from  the  Court  of 
Peking,  was  likely  to  create  hopes  of  the  ultimate  con¬ 
version  of  the  Emperor  and  his  heir,  and  rumours  to  that 
effect  were  widely  circulated  shortly  after  the  issue  of  the 
Edict  of  Toleration.  In  1697,  however,  a  letter  from 
Peking  1  expresses  doubts  on  this  subject  :  “  Je  ne  sgay 
si  le  bruit  de  la  conversion  de  PEmpereur  de  la  Chine  au 
Christianisme,  qui  se  repandit  il  y  a  quelque  temps, 
parvint  jusqu’a  vous,  mais  je  sgay  bien  que  je  ne  voulus 
pas  vous  en  ecrire  parce  que  je  n’en  etois  pas  fort  per¬ 
suade.”  Other  letters,  written  in  1695,  had  announced 
the  conversion  and  baptism  of  a  Prince  at  the  Court, 
“  whose  mother  was  a  sister  of  the  late  Empress,”  and 
again  of  another  Prince,  aged  thirteen.  Rut  the  Imperial 
author  of  the  “  Sacred  Edict,”  for  all  his  tolerant  goodwill 
towards  them,  was  not  likely  to  take  anything  from  the 
Christian  missionaries  which  could  shake  his  own  implicit 
faith  in  the  Canons  of  the  Sages.  His  subsequent  perse¬ 
cution  of  Christianity  in  China  was  directly  due  to  the 
excessive  zeal  of  the  Jesuit  fathers,  who  presumed  upon 
the  place  they  had  won  in  the  confidence  of  this  liberal- 
minded  Emperor. 

With  the  history  of  K’ang  Hsi’s  wars,  of  the  revival 
of  literature  and  learning  under  his  direction,  and  the 
political  relations  of  China  with  her  neighbours  and  vassals 
during  his  long  reign,  the  present  work  does  not  profess 
to  deal.  We  have  referred  to  the  writings  and  other 
activities  of  the  Jesuit  fathers  at  Peking  for  the  reason 
that  students  of  history  will  find  in  them  much  that  is  of 
interest  and  importance. 

For  five  years  after  his  succession  to  the  Throne,  in 
1662,  the  lad  K’ang  Hsi  was  under  the  charge  of  the  Board 

1  Quatrieme  lettre  historique  de  Hollande,  imprimee  a  la  Haye  au 
mois  Fevrier  de  l’annee  1697. 


R 


241 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


of  Regents  appointed  by  his  father  to  administer  the 
Government,  but  from  the  outset  he  was  influenced 
against  them  (and  particularly  against  Duke  Ao  Pai,  the 
most  masterful  of  the  four)  by  his  grandmother,  the 
strong-minded  Mongol  Empress  of  T’ai  Tsung,  and  by  Shun 
Chih’s  Empress,  Borjikin.  The  Regents  also  incurred  his 
youthful  displeasure  by  their  harsh  treatment  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  fathers, — towards  whom  Shun  Chih  had 
shown  himself  well  and  kindly  disposed — and  particularly 
by  their  imprisonment  of  Adam  Schaal,  who  had  been 
appointed  special  tutor  to  K’ang  Hsi.  It  was  largely 
because  of  this  persecution  of  the  worthy  Father  Adam  1 
and  other  Christians  that,  in  1667,  the  young  Monarch, 
aided  and  abetted  by  his  grandmother  and  the  moral 
support  of  his  Court,  dismissed  the  Regents  and  assumed 
control  of  the  Government  at  the  age  of  thirteen. 

It  is  interesting,  at  this  point,  to  observe  that  the  whole 
history  of  the  Manchu  dynasty  illustrates  the  quality 
which  Mill  has  described  as  peculiarly  characteristic  of 
Orientals,  the  quality  of  inveterate  jealousy,  which 
successive  Emperors  and  their  advisers  displayed  towards 
high  officials  who  had  attained  to  influence  in  the  councils 
of  their  predecessors.  Thus,  in  Shun  Chih’s  reign,  we 
have  the  posthumous  deposition  of  the  Regent,  Prince 
Jui;  K’ang  Hsi  dismisses  his  Board  of  Regents;  Chia 
Ch’ing  orders  the  death  of  his  father’s  chief  favourite; 
Tao  Kuang  dismisses  his  father’s  all-powerful  eunuch; 
Hsien  Feng  orders  Mu  Yang-a  into  retirement;  T’ung 
Chih  (under  the  influence  of  Tzu  Hsi)  rids  himself  of  the 
usurping  Regents;  and  finally,  to  come  to  our  own  day, 
the  Empress  Lung  Yii,  in  the  name  of  His  Majesty  Hsiian 
T’ung,  dismisses  Yuan  Shih-k’ai. 

To  return  to  K’ang  Hsi.  After  his  assumption  of  the 
Government,  the  Regents,  who  retained  office  as  Ministers, 

1  Vide  Du  Halde,  Description  de  V Empire  de  la  Chine  et  de  la  Tartare 
Chinoise,  1735,  Vol.  IV,  p.  286. 


242 


THE  JCOURT  OF  PEKING 

continued  for  some  time  to  be  a  thorn  in  his  side;  the 
Duke  Ao  Pai,  in  particular,  treating  him  with  studied 
arrogance,  which  his  proud  spirit  could  ill  brook.  But 
the  ex-Regents  commanded  a  powerful  following,  and 
the  old  Empress  Dowager  therefore  advised  the  young 
Monarch  to  go  warily.  The  following  account  of  the  way 
in  which  these  Ministers  were  finally  removed,  is  interesting, 
if  only  because  it  reveals  in  the  aged  consort  of  T’ai  Tsung 
the  naive  credulity  and  superstition  which,  to  the  end, 
remained  characteristic  of  the  notable  women  of  the 
dynasty. 

On  New  Year’s  Day  1669,  the  Duke  Ao  Pai  appeared 
as  usual,  at  the  head  of  the  Court,  to  offer  the  season’s 
congratulations.  He  wore  an  Imperial  state-robe,  the 
only  difference  between  his  attire  and  that  of  the  Sovereign 
being  that,  instead  of  the  great  Imperial  pearl,  which  tho 
Emperor  wore  on  the  front  of  his  official  hat,  he  contented 
himself  with  a  knot  of  red  velvet.  K’ang  Hsi  made  no 
comment  at  the  time,  but  on  returning  to  his  private 
apartments  asked  his  grandmother  to  advise  him  by 
what  means  they  could  get  rid  of  the  haughty  Minister. 
At  that  moment  the  old  lady’s  favourite  eunuch  was  by 
her  side,  throwing  dice  out  of  a  cup  for  luck.  In  throwing 
Chinese  dice,  of  which  there  are  usually  six,  the  best  throw 
occurs  when  the  six  different  numbers  all  turn  up.  K’ang 
Hsi  seized  the  cup,  paused  an  instant  as  if  invoking  super¬ 
natural  aid,  and  made  a  cast.  The  numbers  came  out 
all  different,  whereupon  the  Empress  Grand  Dowager, 
delighted,  exclaimed  :  “You  need  not  be  afraid  of  him 
any  longer  ”  (referring  to  Ao  Pai).  A  few  days  later,  a 
decree  was  issued  by  the  Emperor  dismissing  the  ex- 
Regents  from  their  offices,  and  inviting  his  Princes  and 
Ministers  to  consider  their  offences  and  advise  as  to  the 
proper  penalty.  They  recommended  that  Ao  Pai  should 
be  sentenced  to  the  lingering  death,  but  as  the  Empress 
Grand  Dowager  did  not  consider  it  expedient  to  take 

243 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


such  extreme  measures,  the  sentence  was  commuted  to 
permission  to  commit  suicide  and  the  forfeiture  of  his 
estates  and  titles,  except  the  hereditary  dukedom.  Before 
the  sentence  could  be  carried  out,  a  Buku  (palace  wrestler), 
strangled  him  in  prison. 

In  commemoration  of  this  happy  release,  K’ang  Hsi 
subsequently  issued  a  decree  establishing  as  a  house-law, 
to  be  observed  by  his  posterity,  that,  on  every  New  Year’s 
Day,  the  Emperor  should  throw  the  dice,  to  learn  the 
omens  for  the  coming  year.  And  so,  until  the  abdication 
of  the  dynasty,  it  was  done ;  but,  like  all  good  uses,  it 
became  corrupted  in  later  years  at  the  hands  of  the 
eunuchs.  On  New  Year’s  Day,  after  the  Court  had  done 
obeisance  and  the  Emperor  had  retired  to  his  apartments, 
it  was  the  invariable  custom  for  the  Chief  Eunuch  to  hand 
him  a  golden  plate  with  six  dice  on  it.  The  eunuch  would 
kneel  while  the  Emperor  cast  the  dice.  Invariably  they 
turned  up  all  different,  and  the  eunuch,  congratulating 
the  Sovereign  on  the  continued  favour  of  Heaven,  would 
then  hurriedly  remove  them.  But  Heaven  had  nothing 
to  say  to  this  invariably  auspicious  result,  because  these 
Imperial  dice  were  carefully  made,  so  as  to  ensure  favour¬ 
able  omens,  with  a  different  number,  and  one  only,  on 
each.1 

Concerning  Ao  Pai,  the  chroniclers  also  aver  that  a 
week  before  his  dismissal,  he  had  applied  for  sick  leave, 
and  the  Emperor  went  to  pay  him  a  visit.  He  found  him 
lying  on  the  stove-bed,  covered  with  a  sable  robe.  While 
K’ang  Hsi  was  talking  to  him,  one  of  the  suite  suddenly 
drew  the  sable  robe  slightly  aside,  and  a  dagger  was  dis- 

1  In  the  record  of  Father  Gerbillon’s  first  journey  in  the  suite  of 
K’ang  Hsi  to  Tartary  (1691),  he  states  that  the  Emperor  (then  thirty- 
seven  years  of  age),  discussing  with  him  affairs  connected  with  the 
Board  of  Astronomy,  expressed  the  utmost  contempt  for  those  who 
superstitiously  believed  in  good  and  evil  hours  and  auspicious  days. 
Not  only  did  he  regard  these  beliefs  as  false  and  vain,  but  he  held  that 
they  did  great  injury  to  the  State,  when  the  rulers  of  the  country  are 
obsessed  by  them. 


244 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


covered.  It  is  treason  for  a  subject  to  have  arms  on  his 
person  in  the  presence  of  the  Emperor,  but  K’ang  Hsi  only 
smiled  at  the  sight  and  said  :  “  Ao  Pai  is  indeed  a  true 
Manchu  warrior ;  he  keeps  his  weapon  ready  by  his  side, 
even  when  on  a  bed  of  sickness,  that  he  may  rise  at  any 
moment  to  defend  his  Emperor.”  From  these  words  the 
courtiers  knew  that  the  days  of  Ao  Pai’s  power  were 
numbered. 

Towards  the  end  of  his  long  reign,  K’ang  Hsi’s  life  was 
made  a  burden  to  him  and  his  health  undermined  by  the 
undutiful  and  lawless  conduct  of  several  of  his  sons.  He 
was  a  great  ruler  and  a  wise  man,  but  he  resembled  many 
other  great  men  in  the  history  of  the  East,  from  Solomon 
down  to  the  statesmen  and  scholars  of  to-day,  in  that  his 
philosophy  was  not  proof  against  the  vicissitudes  of 
polygamy  and  the  penalties  of  excessive  paternity.  His 
sons,  like  the  sons  of  Eli,  dealt  evilly  with  the  people,  and 
brought  their  father’s  grey  hairs  in  sorrow  to  the  grave, 
a  result  by  no  means  uncommon  under  China’s  patriarchal 
system.  K’ang  Hsi’s  edicts  and  exhortations  concerning 
his  domestic  broils  reveal  the  fact  that,  firmly  convinced 
of  his  own  virtues  and  intelligence,  he  took  pride  in  his 
procreative  capacity,  and  hoped  to  confer  on  his  dynasty 
and  on  China  an  abundant  posterity,  imbued  with  his  own 
moral  and  intellectual  qualities.  In  this,  he  was  grievously 
disappointed,  and  the  incessant  broils  created  by  his  sons 
when  they  had  reached  years  of  discretion  embittered  his 
declining  years  and  dimmed  the  prestige  of  his  reign. 

K’ang  Hsi  had  thirty-five  sons ;  of  these  twenty-four 
attained  to  manhood.  The  following  is  a  list  of  those  who 
by  good  or  evil  report,  figured  prominently  in  the  annals 
of  his  reign  and  that  of  his  successor,  Yung  Cheng  : 

*Yitn  CKih  :  born  in  1672,  son  of  the  concubine  Hui,  who 
was  of  rank  too  low  to  permit  of  her  offspring  being 

245 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


eligible  to  the  Throne.  He  was  created  Prince  Chili 
(Upright),  and  was  cashiered  and  confined  to  his 
residence  in  1708.  Obiit  1734. 

Yiin  Jeng :  Prince  Li  (Principled),  son  of  the  senior 
Empress  Consort  Hoshli,  who  died  in  1674.  He  was 
made  Heir  Apparent  when  two  years  old;  deprived 
of  his  title  and  confined  to  one  of  the  palaces  in  the 
rear  of  the  Coal  Hill  in  October  1708,  reinstated  in 
April  1709,  again  degraded  and  imprisoned  in  October 
1712.  Died  in  prison  in  the  second  year  of  Yung 
Cheng’s  reign,  1725. 

*Yun  Chih :  Prince  Ch’eng  (Sincere).  Born  in  1677, 
imprisoned  by  his  brother  Yung  Cheng  in  1730  at  the 
Coal  Hill,  and  poisoned  (officially  stated  to  have  died 
of  a  sudden  disease)  in  July  1732. 

Yin  Chen  :  created  Prince  Yung  (Just),  succeeded  his 
father  as  Emperor  Yung  Cheng.  Born  1678,  died 
1735. 

Yiin  Ch’i  :  Prince  Heng  (Steadfast),  born  1680,  died  1732. 

Yiin  Yu  :  Prince  Shun  (Pure),  born  1680,  died  1730. 

* Yiin  Ssu  :  Prince  Lien  (Conscientious),  usually  called 
the  eighth  Prince.  Born  of  “  a  woman  of  poor  origin, 
named  Hinyeku,”  in  1681,  deprived  of  his  title  and 
imprisoned  by  Yung  Cheng  in  1726.  Expelled  from 
the  Imperial  Clan  and  given  the  opprobrious  title 
of  “  That  unspeakable  person.”  Died  (poisoned) 
six  months  later.  Posthumously  restored  to  the 
Imperial  Clan  in  1778  by  the  Emperor  Ch’ien 
Lung. 

*Yun  T’cing  :  born  in  1680,  deprived  of  his  title  and  name 
erased  from  the  Imperial  Clan  in  June  1726.  Given 
the  name  of  “  Black-hearted  Monster.”  His  death 
(in  prison  at  Pao  Ting-fu  in  September  1726) 
occurred  within  a  few  days  of  that  of  the  eighth 
Prince,  Yiin  Ssu. 

*Yiin  O  :  born  in  1683,  given  the  title  of  Prince  Tun 

246 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


(Solid)  in  1709;  imprisoned  by  his  brother  Yung 
Cheng  in  1726;  set  free  by  Ch’ien  Lung. 

Yun  T'ao  :  Prince  “  Walking  in  Righteousness,”  born 
1685,  died  1763. 

Yun  Hsiang  :  Prince  Yi  (Harmonious),  born  1686,  died 
1730.  Ancestor  of  Tsai  Yuan,  the  usurping  Regent 
of  T’ung  Chih’s  reign. 

Yun  Ti  :  Prince  Trustworthy,  born  in  1688,  imprisoned 
in  1726  in  a  side  court  of  the  Palace  of  Imperial 
Longevity,  where  his  father’s  coffin  had  reposed. 
Restored  to  liberty  by  Ch’ien  Lung. 

Yun  Lu  :  Prince  Chuang  (Sedate),  born  in  1695.  K’ang 
Hsi’s  favourite  son;  a  friend  of  the  Jesuit  fathers 
and  a  good  astronomer  and  mathematician.  Died 
in  1767. 

Of  these  the  five  marked  (*)  conspired  to  have  the  Heir 
Apparent,  Yun  Jeng,  put  aside  and  to  set  Yun  Ssu  on  the 
Throne.  The  latter  was  undoubtedly  an  able  man,  but 
became  an  object  of  suspicion  at  Court,  owing  to  the 
general  belief  that  he  had  become  a  Christian.  K’ang 
Hsi  had  originally  been  very  well  disposed  towards  the 
Roman  Catholics,  but,  weary  of  their  disputes,  turned 
against  them  in  later  years  and  opposed  his  sons’  intimacy 
with  the  Jesuit  fathers.  The  objections  of  the  five  Princes 
to  the  Heir  Apparent  were  not  entirely  unreasonable 
(though  their  methods  were  unfilial),  as  Yun  Jeng  was 
certainly  possessed  of  an  evil  spirit. 

In  the  autumn  of  1708,  K’ang  Hsi  went  on  a  hunting 
trip  to  the  country  around  Jehol.  He  was  sick  at  heart, 
for  the  unseemly  conduct  of  his  sons  had  latterly  given 
extreme  offence  to  the  Ministers  of  his  Court.  News  of 
their  continued  misdeeds  reached  the  Emperor  at  his 
hunting,  whereupon  he  addressed  his  Court  Chamberlain 
as  follows  :  “I  hear  that  my  sons  frequently  assault  and 
insult  the  Ministers  of  my  Court  and  the  Imperial  body- 

247 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


guard,  besides  picking  quarrels  with  other  Princes  of  my 
house  and  ill-treating  them.  Now  I  wish  it  to  be  clearly 
understood  that  my  sons  are  only  authorised  to  inflict 
summary  chastisement  on  their  own  servants ;  in  all 
other  cases  they  are  bound  to  report  to  me  and  await  my 
decision.  How  can  they  be  permitted  to  run  riot  and  flog 
whomsoever  they  please  ?  I  am  the  lord  of  the  world , 
and  I  myself  conform  in  all  things  to  correct  principles. 
Every  innocent  man  is  by  right  exempt  from  punishment. 
There  can  only  be  one  Head  of  the  State,  and  my  daily 
prayer  is  to  secure  universal  happiness  and  peace.  The 
rule  which  forbids  summary  decapitation  or  strangling, 
without  due  reference  to  me,  by  nobles  or  high  officials, 
was  framed  in  the  interests  of  the  State,  and  not  solely 
for  the  protection  of  the  individual.  It  is  an  insult  to 
my  dignity  that  my  sons  should  treat  officials,  high  and 
low,  with  outrageous  contumely,  and  these  practices 
must  be  stopped.  If  they  break  the  law  of  the  land  by 
abusing  their  power  and  putting  my  officials  in  terror  of 
their  lives,  they  are  guilty  of  usurping  Imperial  pre¬ 
rogatives,  which  belong  to  me  alone.  Are  they  not 
aware  that  sovereign  authority  cannot  be  delegated  to 
another  ?  There  is  but  one  ruler— myself .  Not  even  my 
brothers,  the  Princes  Yii  and  Kung,  would  venture  to 
take  such  a  liberty  as  to  flog  my  Ministers  and  members 
of  my  bodyguard  !  However  guilty  any  of  these  might 
have  been,  I  would  never  have  allowed  my  brothers 
to  take  the  law  into  their  own  hands  and  to  put  my 
officials  to  death.  In  any  case,  however,  they  never 
perpetrated  any  such  offences,  and  my  sons  cannot  be 
allowed  to  commit  them. 

“  The  founder  of  my  dynasty  and  his  son  issued  wise 
precepts  concerning  these  matters,  expressly  forbidding 
that  the  Princes  of  the  Imperial  house  should  scourge  or 
maltreat  their  inferiors,  and  I  never  could  have  believed 
that  such  unlawful  practices  would  sully  my  reign.  If, 

248 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


in  future,  my  sons  disregard  my  injunctions  and  flog  or 
insult  any  Minister  of  the  Court,  the  injured  parties  are 
hereby  specially  enjoined  to  report  the  facts  to  me  with 
full  details.  I  shall  not  fail  to  hear  the  case  and  to  give 
impartial  judgment,  without  visiting  any  punishment 
on  the  plaintiff.  If  things  continue  in  their  present 
course,  the  next  thing  will  be  massacres  perpetrated 
without  my  knowledge.  If  this  my  mandate  be  not 
transmitted  verbatim  I  shall  order  the  decapitation  of 
those  responsible  for  its  due  transmission.” 

A  few  days  later,  at  Bur-hastai,  the  Emperor  bade  the 
Court  assemble  and  order  the  Heir  Apparent  (Yun  Jeng) 
to  kneel  before  him.  With  tears  in  his  eyes  he  addressed 
him  as  follows  :  “  It  is  now  forty-eight  years  since  I 

received  the  Great  Inheritance;  during  the  whole  of  that 
time  I  have  aspired  to  rule  over  a  contented  people 
with  compassionate  affection.  But  my  son,  Yun  Jeng, 
constantly  violates  the  ancestral  precepts  and  my  own 
admonitions.  His  wanton  cruelty  and  vindictive  oppres¬ 
sion  have  been  allowed  to  continue  unreproved,  and  I 
have  borne  with  him  for  the  past  twenty  years.  His 
wickedness  has  waxed  more  and  more  flagrant;  he  has 
insulted  or  beaten  the  Princes  and  Ministers  of  the  Court ; 
he  has  presumed  on  his  position  to  collect  a  lawless  band 
around  him  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  watch  on  my 
movements  and  of  reporting  to  him  my  every  action.1 

“  As  I  see  it,  the  Empire  can  only  have  one  ruler;  by 
what  right,  then,  does  Yun  Jeng  ill-treat  and  beat  my 
Princes  and  Ministers  ?  Prince  P’ing  and  the  Beileh  Hai- 
shan  have  both  been  flogged  by  his  orders,  and  few  of  my 
officials,  few  even  of  my  bodyguard  and  personal  servants, 
have  escaped  his  wrath. 

“  I  am  fully  aware  of  all  that  has  been  going  on.  If 
any  official  reports  his  conduct  to  me,  Yun  Jeng  regards 
him  as  a  mortal  enemy  and  treats  him  with  cruel  vindic- 
1  K’ang  Hsi  suspected  his  son  of  a  design  to  assassinate  him. 

249 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


liveness.  Knowing  this,  I  have  refrained  from  making 
inquiries  from  my  Court  as  to  his  behaviour.  In  the 
course  of  my  numerous  journeys  in  the  provinces  of  the 
Empire,  by  road  or  river,  I  myself  have  never  transgressed 
the  path  of  decorum  by  a  single  step,  nor  injured  any  of 
my  subjects.  But  Yun  Jeng  and  his  band  of  ruffians 
stop  at  nothing;  they  violate  every  right  principle.  His 
behaviour  makes  me  blush ;  I  am  ashamed  to  speak  of 
it.  When  the  Mongol  Princes  sent  tribute  horses  to  me 
as  a  present,  Yun  Jeng  dispatched  his  servants  to  seize 
them  on  the  road  to  Peking,  and  kept  them  for  his  own 
use.  The  Mongols  naturally  resented  this  and  they 
blamed  me. 

“  His  misdeeds  are  innumerable,  but  I  have  kept  on 
hoping  that  he  would  repent  him  of  his  errors  and  return 
to  the  right  way.  So  I  have  borne  with  him  in  silence 
and  shown  foolish  leniency  until  to-day.  I  was  well 
aware  long  ago  of  Yun  Jeng’s  extravagant  habits  and, 
with  the  object  of  meeting  his  exorbitant  requirements, 
I  made  his  foster-mother’s  husband,  Ling  P’u,  Comp¬ 
troller  of  the  Imperial  Household,  so  as  to  give  him  every 
opportunity.  To  my  amazement,  I  find  that  Ling  P’u 
is  even  more  corrupt  and  greedy  than  Yiin  Jeng,  and  the 
consequence  is  that  the  retainers  of  my  household  all  hate 
him.  When  Yun  Jeng  was  a  child,  I  used  to  teach  him 
that  the  needs  of  my  privy  purse  are  provided  out  of  the 
people’s  life-blood,  and  that  wise  economy  was  essential 
to  good  government.  But  he  has  disregarded  my  teaching, 
and  has  given  the  rein  to  his  shameless  extravagance  and 
savage  violence.  If  he  continues  in  this  way  he  will  surely 
end  by  killing  off  all  his  brothers. 

“  A  few  days  ago,  when  my  eighteenth  son  was  mortally 
sick,  every  one  sympathised  with  me  in  this  grief,  afflicting 
my  old  age.  But  Yiin  Jeng  was  quite  callously  indifferent 
to  his  brother’s  fate  and,  when  I  reproved  him,  had  the 
audacity  to  lose  his  temper.  Stranger  still,  his  foster- 

250 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


mother  incited  him  to  tear  a  hole  in  the  cloth  of  the 
travelling  pavilion  in  which  I  had  retired  for  the  night, 
and  to  peep  through  at  me  with  insolent  scrutiny. 

“  On  a  previous  occasion  So-e-tu  aided  and  abetted  him 
in  a  conspiracy  against  my  life.  I  discovered  the  plot 
and  put  So-e-tu  to  death.  In  revenge  for  this,  Yiin  Jeng 
has  now  collected  a  band  of  desperate  villains,  planning 
to  put  an  end  to  me.  At  times  they  seek  to  poison  my 
food,  and  again  they  plot  to  assassinate  me.  I  have  to 
be  perpetually  on  guard  and  never  enjoy  a  peaceful 
moment. 

“  How  can  I  permit  such  a  man  to  succeed  to  the  august 
Inheritance?  Let  us  not  forget  also  that  Yiin  Jeng’s 
mother,  the  late  Empress,  died  in  giving  birth  to  him. 
The  ancients  always  regarded  such  conduct  as  unfilial. 
Ever  since  my  accession  I  have  practised  scrupulous 
parsimony;  my  bed  quilt  is  shabby  and  my  hose  are 
made  of  commonest  cloth.  Yiin  Jeng’s  household  is  on 
a  scale  infinitely  grander  than  mine.  Yet  still  he  is  not 
satisfied  and  must  needs  appropriate  money  from  the 
Imperial  Treasury,  besides  interfering  in  State  affairs. 
Unless  prompt  measures  are  taken,  the  result  will  be  disaster 
to  the  State  and  ruin  to  my  subjects.  If  I  allow  so  unfilial 
a  son  and  so  evil  a  man  to  become  Emperor,  how  shall  I 
face  my  ancestors,  and  how  will  it  fare  with  their  heritage  ?  ” 

At  this  point  the  Emperor  paused  and  burst  into  a 
paroxysm  of  noisy  sobbing.  He  collapsed  and  grovelled 
on  the  ground,  from  which  undignified  posture  he  was 
raised  by  his  Ministers. 

With  an  effort  he  proceeded  :  “I  cannot  allow  such  a 
man  to  succeed  to  the  inheritance  won  by  my  ancestors 
and  consolidated  by  myself.  On  my  return  to  Peking  I 
shall  announce  my  decision  to  the  Almighty  and  the  spirits 
of  my  ancestors,  and  inform  them  of  Yiin  Jeng’s  deposition. 

“  On  a  previous  occasion  I  bade  my  eldest  son,  Yiin 
Ch’ih,  to  give  good  heed  to  my  personal  safety,  but  I 

251 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


never  contemplated  making  him  Heir  Apparent.  He  is 
quite  impossible,  being  of  excitable  temperament  and 
obstinate  in  the  extreme. 

“  I  shall  inflict  no  punishment  on  such  of  Yiin’s  Jeng’s 
followers  as  were  forced  through  fear  into  joining  him. 
I  hereby  order  the  immediate  decapitation  of  So-e-tu’s 
sons  and  of  Erh-ko-su-erh  and  Te-ha-shih-t’ai.  This 
matter  vitally  concerns  the  whole  Empire.  I  have  taken 
care  to  deal  with  it  while  still  in  the  enjoyment  of  good 
health  and  in  the  possession  of  all  my  faculties.  Yiin 
Jeng  is  to  be  placed  under  arrest  at  once,  and  the  Princes, 
Ministers  and  common  people  are  all  at  liberty  to  memorial¬ 
ise  me  on  the  subject,  giving  their  views  as  to  the  justice 
of  my  sentence.” 

The  Court  kotowed  and  burst  into  lamentations.  The 
Ministers  replied  :  “  Your  Majesty  is  indeed  sage  and 

enlightened.  Every  word  you  have  uttered  about  Yiin 
Jeng  is  true.  There  is  no  need  for  us  to  memorialise  in 
reply.” 

To  the  Ministers  of  the  Presence,  K’ang  Hsi  delivered 
a  separate  homily  :  “  When  Yiin  Jeng  was  Heir  Apparent 
you  naturally  had  to  obey  his  orders,  but  I  suspect  that 
some  among  you  were  guilty  of  intrigue  and  flattery. 
Now  that  you  have  been  witnesses  of  his  deposition  I  can 
imagine  that  you  are  passing  days  and  nights  of  abject 
terror  lest  I  should  discover  your  relations  with  Yiin 
Jeng  and  punish  you  with  decapitation.  Yiin  Jeng’s 
wicked  behaviour  has  forced  me  to  take  this  action  in 
his  regard,  but  if  I  began  instituting  a  wholesale  proscrip¬ 
tion  of  all  his  faction,  not  one  of  my  Court  would  escape 
punishment.  I  should  be  left  to  reign  in  solitary  state. 
I  have  already  dealt  out  a  measure  of  punishment  to  the 
guilty,  and  there  let  the  matter  rest.  Even  if  you  are 
denounced  I  shall  ignore  the  impeachment,  so  pray  you, 
be  at  ease. 

“  My  reason  for  summoning  my  third  son,  Yiin  Chih, 

252 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


to  private  audience  to-day  was  due  to  his  great  intimacy 
with  Yiin  Jeng,  and  I  had  certain  questions  to  put  to  him. 
It  is  not  my  intention  to  order  his  arrest,  since,  notwith¬ 
standing  his  close  relations  with  his  elder  brother,  he  has 
not  encouraged  or  abetted  his  pernicious  designs.  In 
fact,  he  assures  me  that  he  has  frequently  admonished 
the  ex-Heir  Apparent  to  forbear,  but  without  success. 
I  believe  he  is  telling  the  truth,  and  I  am  fully  acquainted 
with  the  facts.  I  have  been  greatly  upset  by  these  events, 
and  my  heart  is  disquieted  within  me ;  hence  my  omission 
in  the  previous  decree  to  reassure  your  panic-stricken 
minds  and  to  bid  you  be  at  peace  for  the  future.” 

On  the  following  morning  K’ang  Hsi,  who  was  now  on 
his  way  back  to  the  capital,  summoned  his  Court  and  the 
Manchu  Grand  Secretaries  to  his  travelling  tent,  and  thus 
addressed  them  :  “  I  have  always  been  guided  by  my 

historical  studies  and  the  lessons  which  past  dynasties 
afford,  and  have  refused  to  allow  pretty  women  to  have 
free  access  to  the  Palace.  In  the  same  way  I  have  never 
allowed  good-looking  youths  to  minister  to  my  wants  and 
attend  my  table,  because  I  wished  there  to  be  no  flaw  in 
the  jade  of  my  good  name,  and  to  keep  my  body  in  sub¬ 
jection.  Among  my  hearers  at  this  moment  are  Kuan 
Pao  and  Wu  Shih,  both  of  whom  have  attended  me  since 
my  childhood ;  they  know  all  my  goings  out  and  comings 
in,  and  are  aware  that  what  I  say  is  true.  But  this 
business  of  the  ex-Heir  Apparent  has  come  as  a  terrible 
blow,  and  I  have  not  slept  for  six  nights.”  At  this  point 
the  Emperor  burst  into  loud  weeping,  and  the  courtiers, 
affecting  an  equal  distress,  responded  :  “  Pray  control 

yourself  and  be  pleased  to  consider  the  sacred  duty  Your 
Majesty  owes  to  the  State  and  to  your  ancestors.  It  is 
essential  that  you  take  care  of  your  health.” 

K’ang  Hsi  then  proceeded  :  “  I  have  now  reigned  for 
nigh  fifty  years,  and  have  won  many  new  territories  for 
my  Empire.  I  brought  the  Eleuths  to  their  knees, 

253 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


although  they  had  never  before  acknowledged  allegiance. 
I  may  be  getting  old,  but  if  I  may  say  so  without  boasting, 
I  am  still  thoroughly  capable  of  ruling  with  a  statesman¬ 
like  mien.  Your  love  and  loyalty  for  my  person  are,  I 
am  convinced,  sincere ;  I  have  always  treated  my  officials 
with  kindness  and  have  never  unjustly  inflicted  corporal 
punishment  on  my  attendants. 

“  But  this  year  I  have  had  to  deplore  the  loss  by  death 
of  many  trusted  officials.  You  do  not  know  of  the  tears 
which  I  have  shed  in  secret.  Now  you  beg  me  to  take 
care  of  my  health,  and  I  naturally  feel  bound  to  comply 
with  your  request.  Ever  since  the  beginning  of  the  year  I 
have  had  an  apprehension  of  coming  calamity,  and  I  have 
mentioned  my  fears  to  the  ex-Heir  Apparent.  When  the 
incident  of  the  mad  priest,  who  claimed  to  have  found  the 
Ming  descendant,  occurred  the  other  day,  Yun  Jeng  re¬ 
marked  that  my  prophecy  had  come  true.  But  at  the 
time  I  told  him  that  there  was  further  trouble  ahead, 
though  I  never  anticipated  the  present  misfortune. 

“You  remember  when  my  grandfather  defeated  the 
Ming  armies,  in  the  third  year  of  T’ien  Ts-ang  (1629),  and 
appeared  in  person  outside  the  gates  of  Peking?  His 
Generals  then  urged  him  to  seize  his  opportunity  and  take 
the  city.  ‘  Now  is  your  time,’  said  they,  ‘  to  found  a 
dynasty.  The  city  is  yours ;  why  not  take  it  at  once  ?  ’ 
My  grandsire  replied  :  ‘  Peking,  it  is  true,  can  easily  be 
captured,  but  it  behoves  us  to  wait  for  the  mandate  of 
Heaven.  The  time  is  not  yet  ripe.’  Fifteen  years  later, 
as  you  know,  the  capital  fell  into  the  hands  of  rebels,  and 
the  Princes  and  clansmen  captured  it  for  my  father 
without  trouble.  The  Empire  became  ours  and  in  due 
course  descended  to  me.  Our  dynasty  has  now  ruled  for 
two  generations,  and  if  the  people  are  at  peace  it  is  due 
to  my  obedience  to  ancestral  tradition  and  my  ceaseless 
labours. 

“  On  occasions  of  drought  I  have  fasted  three  days  in 

254 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


the  Palace,  burning  incense  and  praying  to  the  Almighty 
without  ceasing.  As  soon  as  I  proceeded  to  the  Temple 
of  Heaven  to  sacrifice,  my  prayers  were  heard  and  abun¬ 
dant  rain  fell.  Does  not  this  prove  that  I  have  found 
favour  in  the  sight  of  Heaven  ?  But  I  have  never  indulged 
in  vain  boasting  nor  fancied  that  Heaven  was  bound  to 
hearken  to  my  prayers.  Henceforth  it  is  your  duty  to 
help  me  and  to  labour  more  earnestly.” 

Yun  Jeng  went  with  the  Court  on  the  return  journey  to 
Peking,  and  K’ang  Hsi  observed  him  closely.  The  result 
of  his  diagnosis  was  given  to  his  Ministers,  as  follows  : 
“  Yun  Jeng  is  not  a  normal  being.  He  sleeps  the  livelong- 
day  and  breaks  his  fast  at  midnight.  He  indulges  in 
deep  potations,  and  can  carry  thirty  or  forty  cups  of  strong- 
spirit  without  becoming  intoxicated.  When  I  used  to 
send  him  to  perform  sacrifice,  he  would  become  very 
nervous  on  reaching  the  altar  and  fail  in  the  performance 
of  the  ceremonial.  He  is  in  terror  of  thunder  and  lightning, 
and  even  heavy  rain  alarms  him.  His  behaviour  is  most 
eccentric,  and  he  talks  a  lunatic  gibberish.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  he  is  mad  and  sore  vexed  by  demoniac 
possession.  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
Palace  in  Peking  occupied  by  Yun  Jeng,  that  of  4  Picked 
Fragrance,’  is  haunted.  Its  situation  is  low  and  unhealthy, 
and  many  deaths  have  occurred  there.  Through  constant 
residence  there  Yun  Jeng  has  fallen  a  victim  to  an  evil 
spirit,  which  has  taken  up  its  habitation  in  his  body.  It 
is  a  most  extraordinary  circumstance,  but  his  conduct  can 
only  be  due  to  demoniacal  influence.” 

On  the  following  day  the  cortege  reached  Peking ; 
during  the  journey  the  ex-Heir  Apparent  had  been  in 
the  custody  of  his  elder  brother,  Yun  Ch’ih.  On  reaching 
the  city,  K’ang  Hsi  ordered  a  felt  tent  to  be  prepared  for 
his  reception  in  the  Imperial  equipage  department,  and 
placed  Yun  Jeng  in  charge  of  Yun  Ch’ih  and  of  his  fourth 
brother  (who  reigned  later  as  Yung  Cheng). 

255 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


The  first  thing  to  be  done  was  to  inform  the  Empress 
Dowager.1  After  Her  Majesty  had  signified  her  approval 
of  the  ex-Heir  Apparent’s  deposition,  K’ang  Hsi  ascended 
the  Throne  of  the  T’ui  ho  (Exalted  Peace)  Palace  and 
read  his  decree : 

“  The  position  of  heir  to  the  Throne  is  of  the  greatest 
importance  to  the  State,  and  I,  who  am  a  keen  student 
of  history,  could  never  regard  the  question  of  succession 
with  indifference.  During  Yun  Jeng’s  childhood  I  taught 
him  myself,  and  afterwards  nominated  competent  pre¬ 
ceptors  to  instruct  him  in  philosophy.  It  cannot  be  said 
that  he  did  not  show  progress  in  his  studies,  while  in 
horsemanship,  archery,  caligraphy  and  composition  he 
was  quite  up  to  the  average.  But  lately  his  mind  has 
become  clouded  through  demoniac  possession  :  he  fidgets 
incessantly,  and  talks  and  acts  in  the  most  peculiar 
fashion.  He  is  always  seeing  visions;  his  sleeping  and 
waking  hours  are  full  of  terror.  He  keeps  changing  his 
abode,  and  will  devour  seven  or  eight  bowls  of  rice  at  a 
meal  without  satisfying  his  appetite.  He  can  carry 
thirty  beakers  of  wine  without  inconvenience. 

“  My  inquiries  have  elicited  several  other  interesting 
and  surprising  facts  :  of  all  his  multitude  of  attendants 
not  one  speaks  well  of  him.  This  is  proof  conclusive  that 
his  mind  is  deranged.  I  had  intended  to  wait  until  my 
rrival  in  Peking  before  putting  him  under  arrest,  but 
circumstances  rendered  prompt  action  necessary.  What 
is  your  opinion  of  his  case  ?  ”  The  Court  remained  on  its 
knees,  and  Prince  K’ang,  the  senior  Prince  present, 
answered  :  “  Your  Majesty  nurtured  the  Heir  Apparent 
with  benevolence  and  trained  him  in  the  path  of  duty. 
But  of  late  years  he  has  become  demented,  and  is  possessed 

1  The  consort  of  Shun  Chih,  by  name  Borjikin,  a  daughter  of  Duke 
Chorchi,  of  the  Mongol  Khorchia  tribe.  Now  in  her  seventy-third 
year,  she  was  a  remarkable  old  lady,  who  took  an  active  part  in  the 
Government.  K’ang  Hsi  was  devoted  to  her.  She  died  in  1718, 
aged  eighty-three. 


256 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


by  a  devil.  Your  decision  to  disinherit  him  is  warranted 
by  circumstances;  our  opinion  is  unanimous.” 

K’ang  Hsi  replied  :  “  I  have  made  up  my  mind,  and 
shall  inform  Heaven  and  earth  and  the  Temple  of  An¬ 
cestors.  The  Heir  Apparent  is  sentenced  to  confinement 
in  prison.  He  was  son  of  my  Empress  Consort,  and  has 
received  the  most  loving  care  at  my  hands.  I  used  to 
teach  him  that  he  must  obey  the  precepts  of  our  ancestors, 
and  would  point  the  moral  which  the  classics  and  history 
teach — how  that  the  success  or  ruin  of  a  dynasty  depends 
upon  its  retention  of  the  confidence  of  the  people.  How¬ 
ever  ignorant  he  may  be,  surely  he  must  be  aware  that 
no  one  can  afford  to  forfeit  the  people’s  trust.  But,  in 
spite  of  the  careful  training  which  he  has  received,  his 
conduct  has  left  him  without  a  single  friend.  Can  it  be 
doubted  that  he  is  a  victim  to  demoniac  possession, 
irresponsible  for  his  actions  ? 

“  Yiin  Jeng’s  case  is  disposed  of.  If  my  other  sons 
make  it  a  pretext  for  forming  cabals  and  for  endeavouring 
to  ruin  Yiin  Jeng’s  former  partisans,  I  shall  show  them  no 
mercy. 

“  My  great  grandfather,  our  founder,  decapitated  his 
eldest  son  Ch’u  Yen  on  charges  brought  against  him  by 
the  other  Princes;  my  grandsire  visited  punishment  on 
one  of  the  Princesses  in  connection  with  the  charge  against 
Prince  Mang-ku-erh-tai ;  in  my  father’s  time  Prince  Li 
accused  his  son  Sheto  and  his  grandson  At-a-li  of  breaking 
the  law,  and  both  were  beheaded;  the  former  Regent, 
my  uncle,  Prince  Jui,  put  Princes  to  death  for  flattery  and 
intrigue;  in  my  own  childhood,  soon  after  my  accession, 
Ao  Pai  paid  off  grudges  against  his  colleague  in  the 
Regency,  Su-ko-sa-ha,  by  exterminating  him  and  all  his 
family,  in  spite  of  my  remonstrances.  Such  cases  are 
common,  and  in  our  family  it  seems  inevitable  that  these 
fratricidal  quarrels  should  occur,  owing  to  its  inveterate 
tendency  to  form  cabals.  Will  not  this  be  a  warning  to 
s  257 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


you  all  ?  I  have  now  reigned  forty-eight  years,  a  period 
longer  than  all  (save  a  few  exceptions)  of  my  predecessors 
in  history.  This  is  a  sure  sign  that  the  Almighty  regards 
me  with  affection,  and  in  return  am  I  not  bound  to  do  my 
best  for  the  Empire  and  my  subjects  ?  ” 

Upon  the  deposition  of  the  Heir  Apparent,  two  high 
officials  of  the  Court,  partisans  of  the  eighth  Prince,  Yiin 
Ssii,  hoping  to  gain  credit  and  the  succession  for  their 
patron,  circulated  fresh  charges  against  Yiin  Jeng  for 
the  purpose  of  poisoning  the  Emperor’s  mind  and  inducing 
him  to  have  the  wretched  Yiin  Jeng  put  to  death.  On 
perusing  the  memorial  which  they  put  in  the  Emperor  was 
very  wrath,  and  decided  to  order  his  son’s  execution. 
But  he  was  turned  from  this  purpose  by  Lou  Te-na,  a 
Chamberlain  of  the  Presence,  an  aged  official  who  had 
great  influence  over  him.  He  had  fixed  on  the  day  of  his 
return  to  the  Palace  from  the  western  hills  to  issue  his 
death  decree,  but  before  the  cortege  started  for  the  city 
Lou  asked  for  audience.  After  speaking  of  routine  details 
he  said  :  “A  strange  thing  has  happened  :  the  command¬ 
ant  of  the  guards  at  the  city  gate,  who  used  to  be  excessively 
fat,  has  been  suddenly  smitten  with  sickness,  and  is  now 
as  thin  as  a  lathe.”  When  K’ang  Hsi  reached  Peking, 
he  saw  the  commandant  standing  at  the  head  of  his  men, 
and  noticed  that  he  was  as  fat  as  usual,  whereupon  he 
rebuked  Lou  with  making  a  false  report.  Lou  laughingly 
answered  :  “  This  may  show  Your  Majesty  how  un¬ 

reliable  are  these  reports  about  the  former  Heir  Apparent. 
If  false  rumours  can  get  about  concerning  your  com¬ 
mandant’s  loss  of  flesh,  how  much  more  so  in  the  case  of  a 
Prince  who  is  naturally  a  target  for  the  calumnies  of 
jealous  persons  !  ”  K’ang  Hsi  nodded  and  tore  up  the 
decree  which  would  have  consigned  his  son  to  the  scaffold. 

The  Hanlin  Academy  drew  up  a  form  of  liturgy  for  the 
Emperor  to  use  in  informing  Heaven,  earth,  the  tutelary 
deities,  and  the  ancestral  spirits  of  the  Heir  Apparent’s 

258 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


deposition.  But  its  form  was  not  modest  enough  to 
please  K’ang  Hsi,  who  substituted  one  of  his  own,  and 
ordered  that  it  be  rendered  into  Manchu  without  the 
alteration  of  a  character,  “  to  show  the  depth  of  his 
sincerity.”  On  the  translation  being  completed  the 
Emperor  was  still  dissatisfied,  and  administered  the 
following  rebuke  to  all  concerned.  “  In  my  draft  of  the 
proposed  service  I  used  the  words  :  ‘  Bending  my  body 
and  exhausting  my  energies,  ceasing  only  with  death.’ 
I  was  quoting  the  words  of  Chu-ko  Liang  (a  famous 
General)  in  his  memorial  on  taking  the  field.  You  are, 
no  doubt,  under  the  impression  that  such  language  can 
only  be  appropriately  used  by  a  Minister,  and  should  not 
proceed  from  the  Sovereign.  You  therefore  altered  the 
meaning  in  the  Manchu  version.  Now  I  consider  that 
these  words  are  worthy  of  a  loyal  and  good  Minister  like 
Chu-ko  Liang,  but  if  such  devotion  be  fitting  in  the  states¬ 
man,  how  much  more  is  it  so  in  the  Sovereign?  Let 
me  explain  my  meaning  to  you  Ministers.  The  statesman 
can  always  lay  the  blame  for  his  mistakes  on  the  Sovereign, 
but  on  whom  is  the  Sovereign  to  shuffle  off  his  responsi¬ 
bility  ?  It  is  his  bounden  duty  to  ‘  bend  his  body  and 
exhaust  his  energies  ’  in  reverence  to  God  and  diligent 
care  for  the  people.  I  am  the  son  of  Almighty  God,  and 
God  is  my  only  stay;  the  Heir  Apparent  was  formerly 
the  object  on  which  my  hope  and  trust  centred.  But  his 
conduct  has  rendered  his  deposition  inevitable ;  how,  then, 
could  I  omit  to  inform  God  Almighty  ?  The  ceremony  is 
fixed  for  to-morrow.” 

The  Heir  Apparent  had  intrigued  with  the  various 
Ministries  and  frequently  interfered  in  Government  ap¬ 
pointments,  doubtless  for  a  tangible  consideration.  K’ang 
Hsi  ordered  an  investigation,  as  the  result  of  which  the 
Cabinet  reported  that  there  was  no  proof  of  his  having 
actually  altered  or  cancelled  any  orders  issued  by  the 
Throne.  K’ang  Hsi  replied  :  “  Naturally  he  would  not 

259 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


have  had  the  effrontery  to  make  changes  in  rescripts  and 
decrees  issued  by  my  vermilion  pencil;  nevertheless,  he 
was  always  seeking  to  usurp  the  supreme  power.  It  is 
certain  that  in  many  instances  he  secured  the  shelving 
of  measures  of  which  he  disapproved,  and  conversely 
the  expediting  of  those  in  which  he  was  interested, 
besides  having  exerted  illicit  influence  for  venal  objects. 

I  hereby  command  that  every  appointment  or  measure 
which  has  been  recently  promulgated,  and  about  which 
there  is  the  least  taint  of  suspicion,  shall  be  cancelled 
forthwith.” 

The  following  is  the  text  of  his  Decree  to  the  Nation  : 

“  By  God’s  grace  I  succeeded  to  my  ancestors’  patrimony, 
forty-eight  years  ago.  Throughout  my  reign  I  have 
reverenced  the  Almighty  and  striven  to  meet  my  subjects’ 
wishes.  I  do  not  forget  that  God  created  the  people,  and 
appointed  a  ruler  to  govern  them  in  order  that  their  needs 
might  be  studied.  I  have  ever  made  careful  inquiries 
as  to  the  condition  of  my  subjects  all  over  the  Empire; 
in  no  single  instance  have  I  shown  slackness ;  I  have  made 
grants  from  my  privy  purse  amounting  to  scores  of 
millions  of  taels.  I  have  relieved  their  distress  by  re¬ 
ducing  the  land  tax,  and  have  saved  thousands  of  lives 
by  amnesties  to  offenders,  because  it  is  the  duty  of  a 
Sovereign  to  cherish  his  people,  and  this  principle  was 
inculcated  by  my  ancestors  as  a  behest  to  their  posterity. 

“  But  in  spite  of  all  my  careful  training,  the  Heir 
Apparent,  Yiin  Jeng,  is  vicious  by  nature,  and  has  dis¬ 
obeyed  my  instructions.  Although  his  conduct  steadily 
deteriorated,  I  was  in  hopes  of  his  amendment,  and  allowed 
him  to  accompany  me  on  my  numerous  journeys  to  the 
southern  and  western  provinces,  in  the  hope  that  he  might 
thus  acquire  a  knowledge  of  local  conditions  and  of  the 
people  over  whom  he  would  one  day  rule. 

“  But  he  blackmailed  the  Viceroys  and  Governors,  and 
extorted  bribes  from  local  officials.  His  retinue  was 

260 


Kung  Kwang,  Grandson  of  Kung  Shun. 

( From  a  painting  by  Nan  Ting-ho  [twelfth  century],  in  the  collection  of  Charles  L.  Freer,  Esq.,  at  Detroit.) 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


composed  of  bad  characters,  who  levied  tribute  on  the 
countryside  and  committed  acts  of  violence  and  robbery. 
I  would  often  urge  him  to  be  more  economical,  as  it  is  the 
people  who  have  to  provide  for  all  our  requirements,  but 
he  gave  full  play  to  his  wicked  lusts,  and  showed  no  signs 
of  amendment.  He  has  made  away  with  articles  of 
tribute  which  were  destined  for  my  use,  and  has  appro¬ 
priated  huge  sums  from  the  Imperial  treasury.  There 
are  no  bounds  to  his  oppression  of  the  people.  Of  late 
his  fiendish  cruelty  and  unholy  lust  have  become  still 
more  flagrant;  the  Princes  and  Ministers  have  all  been 
victims  of  his  overbearing  insults,  and  have  even  suffered 
beatings  at  his  hands.  When  I  found  out  that  So-e-tu 
and  Ch’ang-t’ai  were  plotting  against  me  on  his  initiative 
I  put  them  to  death  at  once;  in  consequence  of  which 
Yiin  Jeng  has  harboured  resentment  against  me,  and  has 
even  dared  to  spy  on  my  movements  in  the  privacy  of  the 
Imperial  tent.  Beyond  all  doubt,  he  intended  to  assassi¬ 
nate  me,  and  his  whole  behaviour  indicates  demoniac 
possession.  The  Classic  of  History  says  :  ‘  Heaven  sees 
as  my  people  see;  Heaven  hears  as  my  people  hear. 
Heaven  will  surely  detest  the  man  whom  the  people 
hate.’ 

“  How  can  such  a  man  be  permitted  to  perform  the 
ancestral  sacrifice  or  worship  the  tutelary  deities  as 
Emperor?  I  have  given  most  careful  thought  to  this 
matter,  and  feel  that  my  bounden  duty  leaves  no  alter¬ 
native.  I  have  received  the  gracious  orders  of  the 
Empress  Dowager  to  announce  Yiin  Jeng’s  deposition 
and  arrest  at  the  several  shrines,  in  order  to  propitiate 
the  ancestral  spirits  and  to  comfort  my  people. 

“  I  have  now  stated  all  the  circumstances,  and  as  a 
special  grace  bestow  exemption  on  my  subjects  in  re¬ 
mitting  taxation,  out  of  sympathy  for  the  exactions  which 
they  have  endured  at  Yiin  Jeng’s  hands.  By  purifying 
the  fountain  of  national  life,  the  stability  of  my  dynasty 

261 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


will  be  enhanced ;  by  this  act  of  clemency  the  bounty  of 
the  Throne  will  everywhere  be  manifested.” 

On  the  following  morning  K’ang  Hsi  thus  addressed  his 
sons  :  “  At  the  time  of  Yiin  Jeng’s  arrest,  my  eldest  son, 
Yiin  Ch’ih,  said  to  me  :  4  Yiin  Jeng’s  behaviour  is  utterly 
base  and  abominable,  he  is  scarcely  to  be  called  a  human 
being.  Not  long  ago  a  fortune-teller  named  Chang 
Ming-ti  examined  Yiin  Ssu  (the  eighth  son’s)  physiognomy, 
and  declared  that  he  would  eventually  inherit  the  Throne. 
If  you  desire  Yiin  Jeng’s  death  it  can  be  arranged  by  us, 
and  there  is  no  need  for  Your  Majesty,  my  father,  to  lay 
hands  on  him.’  When  I  heard  the  above  speech  I  was 
completely  dumbfoundered.  I  am  well  aware  that  my 
eldest  son  is  violent  by  nature  and  of  a  besotted  ignorance, 
for  whom  duty  and  principle  mean  nothing.  If  he  and 
his  brother,  Yiin  Ssu,  were  really  hatching  a  plot  to  assassi¬ 
nate  Yiin  Jeng  they  are  quite  capable  of  carrying  it  out, 
regardless  of  the  possible  consequences  to  myself.  Such 
men  are  no  better  than  traitors  or  parricides,  since  they 
transgress  every  tie  of  loyalty  and  filial  duty.  They  will 
reap  their  reward  either  in  the  judgment  of  Heaven  or  the 
punishment  of  man.” 

K’ang  Hsi  compelled  his  eldest  son,  Yiin  Ch’ih,  to  hand 
over  the  physiognomist  Chang  Ming-ti  (who  had  foretold 
that  his  eighth  son  would  be  Emperor),  and  commanded 
his  trial  by  a  commission.  The  Emperor  remarked  :  44  I 
am  acquainted  with  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  which 
are  most  grave  and  involve  a  large  number  of  persons. 
This  man,  Chang  Ming-ti,  has  been  sending  notices  round 
to  many  officials,  but  he  alone  is  to  be  punished,  and  no 
general  proscription  will  be  permitted.” 

By  this  time  K’ang  Hsi  was  thoroughly  uneasy  about 
his  domestic  affairs,  and  evidently  in  abject  terror  of 
assassination.  Again  he  summoned  his  sons  to  the  Palace, 
and  thus  addressed  them  :  44  You  must  really  keep  your 
retainers  in  better  order  and  prevent  them  from  creating 

262 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


disturbances.  The  husbands  of  your  foster-nurses  are  of 
thoroughly  disreputable  antecedents ;  indeed,  your  house¬ 
holds  are  mainly  composed  of  scheming  and  illiterate 
persons  who  misbehave  and  ill-treat  the  people.  Take 
Yiin  Ch’ih’s  four  eunuchs,  for  example,  or  his  two  body- 
servants.  They  are  always  spying  on  my  movements 
and  endeavouring  to  get  hold  of  Palace  gossip.  I  know 
all  about  the  origin  of  these  men,  in  fact  I  have  had  to 
banish  several  of  Yiin  Ch’ih’s  servants  before  now,  while 
others  have  been  killed  in  brawls.  You,  Yiin  Ch’ih, 
really  ought  to  have  some  little  self-respect.  I  have  not 
spared  Yiin  Jeng,  and  shall  certainly  not  be  more  lenient 
with  the  rest  of  you.  When,  on  a  previous  occasion,  I 
called  you  all  to  my  presence,  Yiin  Ch’ih  replied  as 
follows  :  4  Hereafter  all  of  us  brothers  will  dwell  together 
in  unity.  We  shall  spend  our  days  happily  in  the  light 
of  your  presence,  O  Imperial  father.’ 

“  Now,  I  regard  the  above  remark  as  far  from  satis¬ 
factory  :  suppose  that  among  your  number  there  be  one 
bad  character,  who  conducts  himself  lawlessly,  are  all 
you  brothers  going  to  ‘  dwell  together  in  unity  ’  with  him  ? 
Besides,  Yiin  Ch’ih’s  own  record  is  very  bad;  he  uttered 
slanders  against  the  ex-Heir  Apparent  and  tried  to 
induce  me  to  put  him  to  death.  Who  can  believe  a  word 
he  says,  when  he  talks  so  glibly  about  unity  in  future  ? 
In  the  past  Yiin  Ch’ih  has  had  the  effrontery  to  lay  violent 
hands  on  my  guardsmen  and  major-domos;  these  men 
can  be  produced  as  witnesses.  When  Yiin  Jeng  was  in 
his  custody  he  carried  off  several  of  the  workmen  and 
labourers  at  his  brother’s  residence  and  had  them  cruelly 
flogged.  The  result  was  that  some  committed  suicide 
and  others  ran  away.  No  wonder  that  every  one  thinks 
badly  of  you,  Yiin  Ch’ih. 

“  My  troubles  come  thick  and  fast  :  first  my  eighteenth 
son  died  suddenly,  and  now  I  have  had  to  bear  Yiin  Jeng’s 
deposition.  You  ought  to  consider  your  poor  father  a 

263 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


little  and  conduct  yourselves  with  decency.  Does  not 
the  classic  say  :  ‘  He  who  loves  his  father  will  never  dare 
to  incur  the  hatred  of  others;  he  who  respects  his  father 
will  never  allow  himself  to  deserve  contempt  ’  ?  You  set 
a  bad  example  and  are  breaking  my  heart;  how  can  you 
have  the  heart  to  treat  me  so  ?  Kindly  inform  your 
respective  households  of  this  decree.” 

Yim  Ssu  was  at  this  time  Comptroller  of  the  Household, 
and  had  been  ordered  to  assess  the  value  of  a  disgraced 
official’s  property,  who  was  an  ex-Comptroller.  The 
amount  was  far  less  than  the  Emperor  had  anticipated, 
as  the  official  in  question  was  noted  for  his  vast  wealth. 
K’ang  Hsi,  enraged  at  this,  summoned  Yiin  Ssu  to  his 
Palace  :  44  Your  report  is  inaccurate,”  he  said.  “  If  you 
try  to  hoodwink  me  like  this,  I  shall  cut  your  head  off. 
You  are  always  trying  to  make  a  good  impression  on 
people  by  pretending  to  be  lenient  and  generous.  The 
result  is  that  you  assume  all  the  credit  for  my  acts  of 
generosity  and  clemency.  Every  one  praises  you,  while 
I  am  blamed  for  severity.  The  fact  is  you  are  following 
in  the  wake  of  Yun  Jeng;  hereafter,  if  any  one  says  a 
word  in  your  favour  to  me  I  shall  decapitate  him.  How 
can  I  allow  my  sovereign  authority  to  be  delegated  to 
such  as  you  ?  ” 

K’ang  Hsi’s  rages  were  fast  becoming  hysterical.  His 
sons  were  kept  in  constant  attendance.  Again  he  ad¬ 
dressed  them  :  44  When  I  deposed  Yun  Jeng,  I  made  it 
quite  clear  to  all  of  you  that  if  you  intrigued  for  the 
position  of  Heir  Apparent  you  would  be  treated  as  rebels 
against  the  State,  and  would  be  subject  to  decapitation 
without  further  warning.  How  can  the  succession  to 
the  jewelled  Inheritance  be  made  the  object  of  your  vulgar 
scheming  and  intrigues  ?  I  am  well  aware  that  Yun 
Ssu  is  cunning  and  treacherous,  and  that  he  cherishes 
ambitions  for  the  Throne.  In  the  past  he  and  his  parti¬ 
sans  have  tried  to  assassinate  Yiin  Jeng.  Their  plot  now 

264 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


stands  revealed.  I  command  that  Yiin  Ssu  be  placed 
under  arrest  at  once,  and  that  he  be  examined  by  the 
Council  of  Government.  When  I  deposed  Yiin  Jeng,  my 
eldest  son  Yiin  Ch’ih  dared  to  say  :  ‘Yiin  Ssu  is  a  good 
man.’  Now  it  is  a  principle  laid  down  in  the  Spring  and 
Autumn  Annals  that  when  a  subject  plans  treason  the 
Sovereign  is  bound  to  put  him  to  death.” 

At  this  point  Yiin  T’ang,  the  ninth  Prince,  interposed, 
and,  disregarding  their  sire’s  presence,  rudely  shouted 
out  to  his  younger  brother,  Yiin  Ti  :  “If  we  don’t  speak 
now  we  shall  never  have  a  better  opportunity.”  Yiin 
Ti  then  loudly  exclaimed  :  “  The  eighth  prince,  Yiin  Ssu, 
never  plotted  against  Yiin  Jeng;  my  brother  and  I  will 
guarantee  his  innocence.” 

At  this  K’ang  Hsi  burst  into  one  of  his  frantic  rages  (he 
was  subject  to  epilepsy),  and  seized  the  sword  which  he 
was  wearing  with  the  intention  of  slaying  Yiin  Ti  there 
and  then.  But  the  fifth  prince,  Yiin  Ch’i,  knelt  and 
implored  mercy,  while  the  remainder  kotowed.  K’ang 
Hsi  became  calmer,  and  ordered  the  other  Princes  to 
administer  a  sound  whipping  on  Yiin  Ti’s  person,  after 
which  Yiin  Ti  and  Yiin  T’ang  were  forcibly  expelled  from 
the  Palace. 

After  this  serio-comic  episode,  the  commissioners 
presented  their  report  of  the  examination  of  the  physiog¬ 
nomist.  They  said  :  “  The  physiognomist,  Chang  Ming-ti, 
under  examination,  has  confessed  that  he  was  recom¬ 
mended  by  Prince  Shun’s  major-domo  to  Prince  Chih 
(Yiin  Ssu).  He  says  :  ‘  I  had  the  audacity  to  speak 

random  words,  and  ventured  to  accuse  the  Heir  Apparent 
of  committing  cruel  deeds.  I  even  said  I  would  slay 
him  if  I  got  the  chance.  I  also  made  a  vague  boast  that 
I  was  endowed  with  supernatural  power.  I  gained  access 
to  the  Prince,  Yiin  Ssu,  and  tempted  him,  in  order  to 
make  money.  When  I  was  presented  to  him  and  told  his 
fortune  I  said  :  ‘  Your  Highness  is  highly  intellectual, 

265 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


kind-hearted  and  brilliant;  you  will  have  a  long  life, 
enjoy  high  honours,  and,  indeed,  your  face  is  that  of  a 
future  Emperor.’  This  is  the  whole  truth.”  The  Com¬ 
mission  recommended  his  decapitation. 

This  report  did  not  serve  to  improve  the  Emperor’s 
temper;  he  summoned  the  whole  Court  to  audience,  and 
said  :  “  Yiin  Ssu  is  a  traitor.  I  shall  not  permit  you  to 
ask  for  any  remission  of  his  punishment  on  the  ground 
that  he  is  my  son  or  that  he  has  been  the  tool  of  others. 
Heaven  is  above  me  and  I  am  just  in  all  things ;  how  could 
I  show  favouritism  to  my  sons  ?  My  father  ascended  the 
Throne  at  five  years  of  age,  and  I  at  eight.  We  both 
had  to  depend  on  our  officials’  assistance.  Regarding  my 
successor,  I  have  made  up  my  mind  long  ago,  but  do  not 
choose  to  make  the  selection  public.  When  the  time 
comes,  do  you  all  conform  to  my  wishes.” 

Referring  to  the  physiognomist  Chang  Ming-ti,  the 
Emperor  issued  the  following  decree  :  “  Before  the 

deposition  of  the  Heir  Apparent,  Chang  Ming-ti  planned 
to  assassinate  both  him  and  myself.  He  declared  that  he 
was  able  to  summon  at  will  sixteen  magicians  who  could 
fly,  and  that  two  of  these  had  already  arrived.  But  all 
the  good  men  and  true  in  the  Empire  were  now  drawing 
the  Emperor’s  pay,  and  success  would  be  impossible  unless 
one  or  two  of  these  could  be  enticed  from  their  allegiance. 
He  also  said  that  nothing  could  be  accomplished  until 
at  least  half  of  the  young  Princes  had  been  won  over. 
Language  of  this  kind  is  indeed  revolutionary.  It  is 
fortunate  for  me  that  my  personal  bodyguard  is  composed 
of  men  of  determined  loyalty,  who  refused  to  listen  to  his 
insidious  suggestions.  My  eldest  son  heard  of  the  plot 
and  informed  me,  but  Prince  Shun  and  others  were 
responsible  for  the  physiognomist’s  introduction  at  Court, 
and  are  extremely  guilty.  Yiin  Ssu  knew  of  the  design, 
yet  he  never  said  a  word  to  me.  Is  this  fitting  conduct  in 
a  son  or  Minister  of  State  ?  Supposing  Chang  Ming-ti 

266 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


had  only  told  Yiin  Ssu’s  fortune  and  made  no  treasonable 
proposals,  what  made  him  speak  to  his  two  younger 
brothers  about  the  conspiracy?  Yiin  Ssu  is  now  in 
custody;  Prince  Shun  is  also  to  be  arrested.  As  to 
Chang  Ming-ti,  his  guilt  is  too  great  for  simple  decapita¬ 
tion;  he  is  sentenced  to  dismemberment.” 

At  the  examination  Prince  Shun  confessed  that  Chang 
Ming-ti  had  tried  to  induce  him  to  join  his  plot  against 
the  Heir  Apparent,  but  that  he  had  at  once  informed  the 
eldest  Prince.  The  two  younger  Princes,  Yiin  T’ang  and 
Yiin  Ti  declared  under  examination  that  they  had  re¬ 
monstrated  with  the  physiognomist  for  his  mad  sugges¬ 
tions  and  refused  to  have  any  dealings  with  him.  Yiin  Ssu 
admitted  having  told  his  younger  brothers  of  the  physiog¬ 
nomist’s  wild  remarks.  K’ang  Hsi  accordingly  degraded 
Yiin  Ssu  to  the  rank  of  an  unemployed  Imperial  Clansman, 
and  ordered  all  the  parties  concerned  in  the  case  to  be 
present  at  Chang  Ming-ti’s  dismemberment.  All  these 
troubles  were  affecting  the  Emperor’s  health,  and  his 
Court  begged  him  to  take  more  care.  In  reply  he  issued 
a  long  decree  recounting  his  sorrow  at  his  sons’  unfilial 
behaviour.  Now  that  his  years  were  advancing,  he  was 
more  than  ever  afraid  of  making  a  false  step,  lest  he  should 
dim  the  glory  of  his  reign  and  diminish  the  veneration  with 
which  the  Empire  regarded  him. 

The  Emperor’s  refusal  to  make  any  announcement 
concerning  the  succession  was  undoubtedly  due  to  his 
fear  of  creating  fresh  dissensions  and  precipitating  a  crisis 
in  the  Palace.  There  was,  in  fact,  not  one  of  his  sons  in 
whom  he  could  place  absolute  confidence,  not  one  to 
whom  he  had  transmitted  the  qualities  of  wisdom  and 
virtue  on  which  he  so  frankly  prided  himself.  The  sheep 
in  his  domestic  flock  were  all  black,  and  the  son  upon 
whom,  on  his  deathbed,  he  conferred  the  Throne,  in  the 
belief  that  he  came  nearest  to  the  paternal  model,  was 
little  better,  though  more  prudent,  than  the  rest.  K’ang 

267 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


Ilsi  enlarged  the  borders  and  increased  the  prosperity 
and  culture  of  his  Empire,  but  he  left  to  China  in  his  un¬ 
righteous  posterity  a  legacy  of  evil  that  was  destined  to 
create  increasing  trouble  with  every  generation,  and 
eventually  to  bring  about  the  downfall  of  the  dynasty. 
The  only  important  difference  between  the  sons  of  K’ang 
Hsi  and  the  dissolute  Princes  of  the  Imperial  Clan  of  the 
present  day,  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  former  were  com¬ 
paratively  virile  and  physically  active,  and  that  they  were 
not  subject,  like  their  effete  descendants,  to  the  domina¬ 
tions  of  Palace  eunuchs,  the  last  and  most  powerful  of  the 
enervating  influences  which  finally  demoralised  the  Court 
of  Peking. 


268 


CHAPTER  XI 


THE  TRIBULATIONS  OF  YUNG  CHENG 

In  December  1722,  being  then  in  his  sixty-eighth  year, 
the  Emperor  K’ang  Hsi  was  seized  of  a  sudden  illness 
whilst  engaged  in  a  hunting  expedition  in  the  Imperial 
Park  to  the  south  of  Peking.  He  made  haste  to  return 
to  his  favourite  retreat,  the  Garden  of  Bright  Spring, 
close  to  the  Yuan-Ming-yuan  Palace.  At  first  he  seemed 
to  be  getting  better,  but  was  unable  to  perform  the  winter 
solstice  sacrifice  at  the  Temple  of  Heaven,  and  therefore 
deputed  his  son  Yin  Chen  (Prince  Yung)  to  officiate  in 
his  stead.  The  Prince  proceeded  to  the  Hall  of  Fasting 
to  prepare  for  the  solemn  ceremony,  but  had  scarcely 
arrived  there  when  there  came  urgent  messengers  to  inform 
him  that  the  Emperor  was  dying,  and  that  he  must  hasten 
to  his  bedside.  When  he  came  to  his  father’s  presence, 
he  found  there  assembled,  by  the  Emperor’s  command, 
seven  of  his  brothers,  and  K’ang  Hsi’s  brother-in-law, 
Lung  Ko-to.  The  dying  Monarch,  without  wasting  many 
words,  communicated  to  them  his  last  mandate,  that 
Prince  Yung  was  to  succeed  to  the  Throne.  “  My  fourth 
son  is  very  like  me,”  he  said,  “  and  ought  to  make  a  good 
Emperor.”  At  these  words,  Yiin  Ssu  (unquestionably 
the  ablest  of  all  K’ang  Hsi’s  sons),  who  until  then  had 
never  abandoned  hope  of  securing  the  Throne,  was  so 
overcome  with  mortification  and  wrath,  that,  simulating 
intense  grief,  he  left  the  bedchamber.  The  Heir-designate 
proceeded,  as  custom  required,  to  array  his  dying  father 

269 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


in  his  “  robes  of  longevity,”  and  after  witnessing  his 
decease  (20th  December,  1722)  accompanied  the  remains 
to  the  Forbidden  City,  where  they  were  temporarily  laid 
to  rest  in  the  Chien-Ching-kung. 

It  was  no  bed  of  roses  to  which  the  new  Emperor 
succeeded.  He  was  then  forty-four  years  of  age,  and  had 
distinguished  himself  chiefly  amongst  his  turbulent  and 
treasonable  brethren  by  prudently  abstaining  from  their 
plots  against  the  first  Heir  Apparent  and  against  K’ang 
Hsi  himself.  But  judged  in  the  light  of  his  own  record 
as  Emperor,  and  of  his  writings  and  decrees,  his  only 
claim  to  the  admiration  of  posterity  lies  in  his  literary 
attainments  and  in  his  painstaking  attention  to  the  routine 
business  of  government.  In  his  domestic  life,  as  in  his 
relations  with  his  Ministers  and  Court,  he  has  written 
himself  down,  beyond  all  possibility  of  doubt,  as  a  suspi¬ 
cious,  querulous  and  savagely  vindictive  individual.  In¬ 
deed,  the  dynastic  annals  of  his  reign  are  so  burdened 
with  the  long-winded  homilies  and  lachrymose  complain¬ 
ings  of  his  domestic  infelicities,  that,  were  they  the  only 
sources  of  our  knowledge  of  the  period,  one  might  be  led 
to  the  belief  that  the  discussion  and  settlement  of  the 
Imperial  Clan’s  unseemly  wranglings  constituted  the 
entire  business  of  government.  Nevertheless,  these  edicts 
and  homilies  of  Yung  Cheng  (to  give  him  his  reign-title) 
are  replete  with  a  deep  human  interest,  and  help  greatly 
to  explain  the  causes  of  the  Manchu  decline,  which 
(though  arrested  during  the  sixty  years  of  Ch’ien  Lung’s 
reign)  may  be  said  to  have  commenced  with  the  sons  of 
K’ang  Hsi.  We  have  thought  it  advisable  to  reproduce 
the  most  important  of  these  documents,  because,  taken 
as  a  whole,  they  afford  a  very  striking  indictment  of  the 
results  of  polygamy,  as  practised  by  Oriental  Courts,  and 
partially  explain  the  failure  of  the  East’s  patriarchal 
system  as  an  integrating  social  force. 

Yung  Cheng  ascended  the  Throne  with  the  unpleasant 

270 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


certainty  in  his  mind  that  all  his  brothers,  with  the  one 
exception  of  Yun  Hsiang,1  were  hostile  to  him.  His 
first  act  was  characteristic  of  the  Oriental  diplomat.  He 
appointed  a  council  of  four  to  administer  the  government, 
so  as  to  leave  him  free  to  observe  the  ceremonial  ritual  of 
mourning  for  the  full  three  years  enjoined  by  the  Sage. 
This  Council  consisted  of  his  two  brothers,  Yun  Ssu  and 
Yun  Hsiang  (the  bad  boy  of  the  family  and  the  good) 
together  with  the  Grand  Secretary  Ma  Chi  and  his  uncle 
Lung  Ko-to.  His  object  in  appointing  Yun  Ssu,  whom  he 
feared  and  hated,  to  this  responsible  post,  was  to  keep 
him  under  his  eye,  as  he  knew  him  for  an  arch  plotter,  and 
believed  that  none  of  his  other  brothers  were  strong 
enough  to  carry  out  a  successful  conspiracy  without  the 
masterful  Yun  Ssu’s  directions.  At  the  same  time,  as  the 
rebellion  in  the  north-west  was  causing  much  anxiety, 
the  Emperor  took  an  early  opportunity  to  recall  Yun 
Ti  (K’ang  Hsi’s  fourteenth  son),  then  in  supreme 
command  of  the  Imperial  forces,  for  the  reason  that  this 
Prince  was  one  of  Yun  Ssu’s  party,  and  Yung  Cheng 
feared  that  he  might  be  induced  to  proclaim  Yun  Ssu 
Emperor,  and  support  him  with  his  army. 

Yun  Ssu  showed  plainly  enough  his  dislike  and  distrust 
of  his  brother,  the  Emperor;  when  congratulated  on  his 
own  new  title,  he  remarked  that  the  Emperor  evidently 
meant  to  have  his  head,  so  that  condolences  would  be 
more  in  order.  This  was  duly  reported  to  Yung  Cheng 
by  eunuch  spies;  not  an  auspicious  opening. 

Yung  Cheng,  following  in  his  father’s  footsteps,  began 
early  to  administer  vapid  and  verbose  homilies  to 
his  family  and  Court;  a  habit  which  seems  to  have  been 
inveterate  in  all  the  Emperors  and,  for  that  matter,  the 

1  For  whom  the  grateful  Emperor  created  the  Yi  princedom.  A 
direct  descendant  of  the  house  of  Yi,  in  the  person  of  Tsai  yuan,  con¬ 
spired  against  the  Old  Buddha  in  1861  (vide  China  under  the  Empress 
Dowager). 


271 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


Empresses,  of  the  Manchu  dynasty.  Only  in  the  case  of 
the  Old  Buddha  were  these  Pecksniffian  utterances  re¬ 
deemed  by  the  saving  grace  of  humour ;  even  when  dealing 
out  unctuous  platitudes  with  a  lavish  hand,  that  great 
woman  always  gave  the  impression  that,  in  performing  this 
congenial  duty,  she  was  chuckling  to  herself.  As  a  speci¬ 
men  of  one  of  Yung  Cheng’s  earlier  efforts  the  following 
tirade  is  worth  quoting  :  “  The  habit  of  forming  cabals 
and  parties  is  thoroughly  objectionable.  It  prevailed  to 
an  appalling  extent  under  the  Ming  dynasty  and,  alas,  it 
still  continues.  The  late  Emperor  erred  ever  on  the  side 
of  leniency  and  was  loth  to  put  any  offenders  to  death. 
Even  you,  members  of  my  own  family,  it  seems,  are  not 
above  this  abominable  tendency,  but  if  you  imagine  that 
you  are  going  to  enjoy  the  same  immunity  as  you  enjoyed 
during  my  father’s  lifetime,  you  do  err  most  grievously. 
Human  nature  is  always  the  same ;  those  in  office  naturally 
desire  to  retain  the  right  to  make  private  friends  whereso¬ 
ever  they  will.  But  the  business  of  State  requires  that 
all  personal  predilections  must  be  rigorously  set  aside. 
You  all  remember  when  I  was  a  Prince  and  went  about 
among  you.  When  did  I  ever  try  to  promote  my  own 
interests  or  to  intrigue  on  behalf  of  my  proteges  ?  You 
never  knew  me  to  pay  clandestine  visits  for  unlawful 
purposes ;  my  father  recognised  my  unswerving  rectitude, 
and  therefore  made  me  his  heir.  Since  then,  it  seems  to 
me  that  I  have  displayed  an  admirable  leniency  in  not 
venting  past  grudges  on  those  who  are  against  me.  It  is 
my  earnest  hope  that  if  any  of  you  are  in  the  habit  of 
fomenting  conspiracies,  you  will  now  desist.  If  I  err  in 
thus  accusing  you,  see  to  it  that  you  never  merit  charges 
of  the  kind  in  future.” 

As  may  be  supposed,  this  sort  of  thing  was  not  calcu¬ 
lated  to  induce  brotherly  love,  and  the  plots  continued  as 
before.  It  was  unfortunate  for  the  reputation  and  in¬ 
fluence  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  that  several  of  the 

272 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


conspiring  Princes  were  known  to  be  on  friendly  terms  with 
the  fathers  at  Court,  and  some,  it  was  believed,  had  even 
been  baptised  into  the  faith. 

In  the  first  year  of  Yung  Cheng’s  reign  it  was  decided 
by  the  Board  of  Rites,  upon  a  memorial  of  the  provincial 
literati,  that  the  foreign  priests  should  be  excluded  from 
all  parts  of  China  (except  Peking)  and  that  their  churches 
should  be  destroyed.  The  priests  were  accordingly  com¬ 
pelled  to  leave  their  then  flourishing  missions  in  the  interior 
and  seek  refuge  at  Macao  and  Canton.  Over  three  hundred 
churches  were  destroyed.  The  intrigues  of  the  fathers  at 
Peking  and  their  interference  in  the  domestic  broils  of  the 
Court  were  no  doubt  to  some  extent  responsible  for  the 
attitude  of  the  Emperor ;  but  the  trouble  had  been  brewing 
all  through  the  later  years  of  K’ang  Hsi. 

Yun  Ssu’s  principal  aiders  and  abettors  were  the  Princes 
Yun  O  and  Yiin  T’ang,  but  all  the  brothers,  except  Prince 
Yi,  were  more  or  less  implicated.  Yung  Cheng  decided  to 
get  Yun  O  out  of  the  way  for  a  time  by  sending  him  on  a 
mission  to  Mongolia,  but  he  refused  to  proceed  any  fur¬ 
ther  than  Kalgan,  and  threatened  to  return  thence  without 
leave.  Yung  Cheng  met  this  insubordination  with  char¬ 
acteristic  Manchu  wiliness  by  ordering  his  brother,  the  chief 
plotter,  Yun  Ssu,  to  recommend  a  suitable  penalty  for  the 
offence.  Yiin  Ssu  cheerfully  proposed  that  Yiin  O  be 
deprived  of  his  princedom,  shorn  of  his  estates  and  confined 
for  all  time  in  the  Court  of  the  Imperial  Clan.  Thereupon 
Yung  Cheng  issued  the  following  decree  : 

“Yiin  O  is  a  mean  and  contemptible  person,  whose 
conduct  is  that  of  a  wild  and  insensate  fool.  Although  he 
had  the  benefit  of  my  father’s  training,  both  in  literary 
pursuits  and  martial  exercises,  for  over  thirty  years,  yet 
he  has  completely  failed  to  derive  any  profit  therefrom. 
His  conduct  was  a  constant  source  of  grief  to  His  late 
Majesty.  So  infatuate  is  he,  and  so  bereft  of  reason,  that 
he  does  not  realise  his  own  utter  stupidity  and  worthless- 
t  273 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


ness ;  instead  of  retiring  into  private  life  and  thinking  over 
his  misdeeds,  he  lets  his  evil  designs  be  noised  abroad. 
Yiin  Ssu’s  recommendations  in  this  matter  meet  the  case. 
All  the  world  knows  that  I  have  displayed  the  fullest 
measure  of  frank  sympathy  for  my  brothers  all  these 
thirty  years.  All  the  world  likewise  knows  how  they  have 
requited  my  father  and  me.  I  shall  now  be  glad  to  be 
favoured  with  the  candid  opinion  of  my  Court  in  regard 
to  Yiin  O’s  case;  but  I  warn  you  all  not  to  imitate  Yun 
Ssu  in  uttering  high-sounding  but  specious  catchwords, 
for  in  so  doing  you  would  not  only  be  doing  yourselves 
an  injustice,  but  would  insult  the  memory  of  your  late 
Sovereign.  It  is,  of  course,  conceivable  that  Yiin  Ssu,  in 
giving  his  decision,  has  spoken  from  honest  conviction, 
concealing  no  sinister  motive;  but  of  this  I  have  grave 
doubts.” 

The  Princes  and  courtiers  debated  the  case,  and  finally 
advised  that  Yiin  O  should  be  cashiered  and  imprisoned, 
as  Yiin  Ssu  had  recommended.  To  their  memorial  Yung 
Cheng  replied  :  “  When  first  I  handed  over  Yiin  O’s  case 
to  Yiin  Ssu,  I  was  curious  to  see  how  he  would  deal  with  it. 
It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind,  that  Yiin  O,  Yun  T’ang  and  Yiin  Ti 
have  always  been  entirely  under  the  influence  of  Yiin  Ssu, 
whose  duty  it  was  to  train  them  in  the  right  way.  Far 
from  so  doing,  he  has  invariably  encouraged  them  to 
disobey  my  mandates.  And  now,  behold,  he  urges  me 
to  inflict  a  severe  penalty  on  an  offender  who  has  acted 
at  his  instigation,  in  the  hope  that,  if  I  adopt  his  advice, 
public  opinion  may  blame  me  for  excessive  cruelty  to  my 
brother.  He  does  not  appear  to  realise  that  no  penalty, 
however  severe,  could  be  excessive  in  a  case  of  such 
flagrant  disobedience  to  the  orders  of  a  Sovereign  and  an 
elder  brother.  Leniency  would  be  misapplied  in  Yiin  O’s 
case,  because  he  would  fail  to  appreciate  it;  admonitions 
have  no  effect  on  one  who  fears  not  the  law.  You  will, 
therefore,  prepare  for  me  a  full  report  of  Yun  O’s  past  and 

274 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


present  record.  I  myself  have  no  thought  of  sparing  my 
brother,  but  you  are  at  liberty  to  recommend  either  a 
milder  or  a  severer  penalty  than  that  advised  by  Yiin 
Ssu,  as  you  may  think  fit.”  This  inquiry,  as  was  to  be 
expected,  resulted  in  Yiin  O’s  being  stripped  of  his 
princedom  and  sentenced  to  imprisonment  for  life. 

In  1724,  Yiin  T’ang,  another  of  the  disloyal  brothers, 
incited  by  Yiin  Ssu,  was  impeached  for  having  specu¬ 
lated  in  land  belonging  to  nomad  Mongols  while  on  a 
mission  to  Hsining,  and  for  having  caused  the  people  in 
that  region  to  rebel  by  flagrant  abuse  of  power.  He  was 
deprived  of  his  princedom,  and  the  Emperor,  whose 
morbid  fear  of  a  plot  against  his  life  increased  with  every 
fresh  evidence  of  his  brothers’  evil  doings,  seized  the 
occasion  to  deliver  himself  of  the  following  irrelevant 
remarks  :  “Yiin  Ssu  hates  me  because  I  will  not  allow 
myself  to  be  influenced  by  personal  prejudices.  He 
endeavours  to  excite  my  wrath  and  to  induce  me  to  embark 
on  a  general  proscription  against  my  enemies.  In  this 
way  he  hopes  to  make  me  hated  by  my  people  and  to 
bring  about  a  rebellion.  But  his  wish  will  never  be 
gratified.  The  ancient  adage  has  it  :  4  Any  one  is  at 
liberty  to  slay  a  rebellious  Minister  and  a  bad  son.’  My 
father  often  quoted  this  wise  saying  with  special  reference 
to  Yiin  Ssu.” 

Yung  Cheng  even  took  the  trouble  to  compose  a  long- 
winded  pamphlet  setting  forth  the  evil  results  of  parties 
in  the  State  working  against  the  Throne’s  advisers,  and 
denouncing  the  conduct  of  certain  of  the  Princes  who 
had  bestowed  parting  gifts  upon  one  of  Yiin  Ssu’s  party, 
condemned  to  banishment  at  the  post  roads.  “  Yiin 
Ssu,”  he  wrote,  “  is  a  traitor  ever  conspiring  against  me, 
who,  since  my  accession,  has  always  tried  to  counteract 
my  orders.  I  have  had  occasion  to  refer  his  conduct  to  the 
Court  of  the  Imperial  Clan  on  more  than  a  score  of  counts, 
but  have  hitherto  refrained  from  punishing  him  as  he 

275 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


deserves.  In  spite  of  this  leniency  many  of  my  courtiers 
blame  me  for  undue  severity  towards  him ;  the  fact  being 
that  Yiin  Ssu  has  befooled  them.  I  can  read  in  their 
faces  their  resentment,  yet  how  many  Ministers  have 
suffered  punishment  for  Yiin  Ssii’s  misdeeds  while  he  has 
gone  scot-free  !  But  no  cabal  can  be  formed  by  one  man, 
and  unless  Yiin  Ssu  found  sympathisers  he  would  be 
powerless.  He  wins  adherents  by  a  fictitious  display  of 
generosity,  which  is  meant  as  a  foil  to  my  meanness.  He 
gains  a  cheap  reputation  at  my  expense,  but  his  motives 
are  plain  enough.  It  seems  perfectly  hopeless  to  expect 
any  amendment  from  Yiin  Ssu,  but  I  repeat  my  solemn 
warnings  to  the  Princes  and  Ministers.” 

Yiin  Ssu  certainly  displayed  great  ingenuity  in  winning 
popularity ;  he  managed  to  obtain  credit  for  all  the 
Emperor’s  acts  of  generosity  and  to  place  him  in  a  bad 
light.  When  head  of  the  Li  Fan-pu,  he  disallowed,  on 
behalf  of  the  Throne,  the  Khorchin  Princes’  travelling 
allowance  after  their  yearly  appearance  at  Court.  As  head 
of  the  Board  of  Works  he  granted  exemption  from  certain 
dues  without  reference  to  the  Emperor,  and  so  on. 

Yiin  Jeng,  the  former  Heir  Apparent,  whom  K’ang  Hsi 
had  deprived  of  all  his  titles  and  imprisoned  for  life,  was 
reported  to  be  dying  in  his  prison  at  the  Coal  Hill.  Yung 
Cheng  sent  physicians  to  attend  him,  but  they  pronounced 
his  case  hopeless.  The  Emperor  dispensed  with  the 
formality  of  paying  the  sick  man  a  personal  visit,  on  the 
ground  that  the  patient  would  be  obliged  to  make  obei¬ 
sance  before  his  Sovereign,  which  was  contrary  to  etiquette, 
as  he  was  the  elder  brother.  Accordingly,  he  sent  a  message 
to  say  that,  instead  of  seeing  him,  he  would  perform  liba¬ 
tions  to  his  spirit  after  decease,  which  was  doubtless  very 
gratifying  to  Yiin  Jeng.  His  title  of  Prince  Li  was  formally 
restored  to  him. 

On  the  completion  of  the  orthodox  twenty-seven  months 
of  mourning  for  K’ang  Hsi,  the  Emperor  excused  his 

276 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


Council  of  Four  from  further  duties  and  bestowed  rewards 
on  Yiin  Hsiang.  Of  Yun  Ssu  he  said  :  “  Ever  since  I 
bestowed  this  appointment  upon  him  he  has  neglected  all 
his  duties  and  shifted  responsibility  on  to  his  colleagues. 
He  has  never  spoken  a  helpful  word  nor  performed  one 
useful  act.  He  has  done  his  utmost  to  poison  men’s 
minds  against  me,  to  put  obstacles  in  my  path  and  to 
confuse  my  judgment.  For  instance,  when  head  of  the 
Board  of  Works  he  was  responsible  for  the  arrangements  at 
my  father’s  obsequies.  Custom  required  that  twenty  thou¬ 
sand  bearers  should  be  engaged  to  convey  the  catafalque 
to  its  last  resting-place  (ninety  miles  away)  at  the  Eastern 
Tombs.  He  actually  dared  to  memorialise  me,  saying 
that,  on  the  ground  of  expense,  the  number  might  well  be 
reduced  by  one  half.  Unaware  of  the  established  pre¬ 
cedents,  I  weakly  agreed.  Had  not  the  Grand  Secretaries 
come  to  my  rescue  and  explained  the  demands  of  etiquette, 
a  terrible  blunder  would  have  been  committed.  Also,  in 
his  capacity  as  head  of  the  Mongolian  Superintendency,  he 
tried  to  prevent  the  Mongol  Princes  from  coming  to  Peking 
to  pay  their  respects  to  my  father’s  coffin,  on  the  plea  of 
unnecessary  expenditure ;  they  were  moved  to  tears  in  the 
extremity  of  their  grief,  and  had  the  matter  not  been 
brought  to  my  notice,  their  loyalty  to  my  House  might  have 
been  seriously  affected.  He  took  it  upon  himself  to  weed 
out  more  than  half  the  horses  in  the  Imperial  stables, 
pretending  to  economise,  but  his  real  object  was  to  call 
attention  to  my  father’s  extravagance  in  maintaining  so 
large  a  stud.  The  result  was  that  there  were  not  horses 
enough  for  my  needs.  He  was  wont  to  use  dirty  bits  of 
the  commonest  paper  on  which  to  memorialise  the  Throne. 
When  it  fell  to  him  to  prepare  the  pavilion  adjoining  the 
sacrificial  temples,  where  I  changed  my  robes  in  the 
intervals  of  the  liturgy,  the  smell  of  new  paint  on  the 
various  utensils  was  so  nauseating  that  while  robing  I  could 
scarcely  breathe.  The  tables  were  all  in  a  very  rickety 

277 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


condition,  and  it  was  unsafe  to  sit  on  the  chairs.  He 
showed  gross  disrespect  in  the  arrangements  made  for 
reciting  the  prayers  at  this  solemn  ceremony.  Every 
one  knows  the  levity  of  his  behaviour.  I  have  no  time  to 
recount  all  the  instances  of  his  careless  sloth  and  male¬ 
volent  vulgarity.  Yet  have  I  borne  with  them  all  !  Yiin 
Ssu  is  no  fool,  and  knows  full  well  what  he  is  about.  Who 
can  guess  his  motives  ?  In  connection  with  the  supply 
of  red  earth  required  at  Moukden  for  the  mausoleum  of 
our  great  founder,  Yiin  Ssu  had  the  effrontery  to  purchase 
all  the  supplies  available  and  then  to  sell  it  to  the  depart¬ 
ment  concerned  at  a  handsome  profit  to  himself.  He 
deserves  my  sternest  censure,  and  I  must  decline  to  bestow 
any  reward  or  honour  upon  him  for  his  work  on  my 
Council.” 

Next  came  the  case  of  Yiin  T’ang.  At  a  conclave  of  all  the 
courtiers  Yung  Cheng  delivered  himself  of  a  characteristic 
sermon  :  “  Owing  to  the  abominable  conduct  of  Yiin 
T’ang,  I  sent  him  to  Hsining.  There  he  connived  at  the 
lawless  acts  of  his  personal  staff,  and  arrogated  to  himself 
rank  higher  than  he  possessed.  Accordingly,  I  sent 
General  Ch’u  Tsung  to  remonstrate  with  him  and  to  urge 
him  to  amend  his  ways.  Ch’u  now  informs  me  that 
Yiin  T’ang  did  not  take  the  trouble  to  come  from  his 
residence  to  meet  him  with  the  respect  due  to  an  Imperial 
envoy;  he  omitted  to  bend  the  knee,  and  when  at  last 
he  did  condescend  to  summon  Ch’u  to  his  presence  he 
showed  no  signs  of  shame  or  regret.  On  the  contrary, 
he  seemed  thoroughly  self-satisfied  and  displayed  con¬ 
tumelious  arrogance.  Ch’u’s  report  says  :  4  Your  servant 
commanded  him  to  come  out  into  the  courtyard  and  to 
kneel  while  I  read  to  him  your  Imperial  mandate.  He 
came  out,  but  flatly  declined  to  kotow,  rose  rudely  from  his 
knees  after  hearing  your  decree  and  remarked  :  “  What  the 
Emperor  says  is  no  doubt  true  enough ;  what  need  for  me 
to  answer  ?  I  shall  take  the  vows  of  the  Buddhist  priest- 

278 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


hood.  When  I  am  become  a  bonze,  perhaps  His  Majesty 
will  believe  that  I  no  longer  am  a  rebel  against  the  Throne.” 
Even  his  servants  seemed  quite  callous  and  undisturbed.’ 
My  object  in  sending  Ch’u  to  Hsining  was  simply  that 
he  might  tell  my  brother  to  keep  his  people  in  order.  I 
fully  expected  him  to  amend  his  ways  and  lead  a  new  life. 
It  was  surely  to  his  own  interest  to  obey  the  law,  but  his 
nature  is  both  base  and  proud,  and  he  knows  not  the  respect 
due  to  a  Sovereign  from  a  subject.  When  he  talks  of 
intending  to  become  a  bonze  and  to  forsake  the  world, 
does  he  really  imagine  that  if  he  did  so  it  would  be  the 
end  of  his  duty  to  his  elder  brother,  and  that  thenceforth 
he  would  part  company  from  his  Emperor  ?  These  are 
wild  and  wanton  words  indeed.  During  my  father’s 
lifetime  these  brothers  of  mine,  Yiin  Ssu,  Yiin  Chih,  Yiin 
T’ang,  Yiin  O  and  Yiin  Ti,  by  their  wicked  behaviour  and 
heartless  conspiracies,  made  His  Majesty’s  life  a  burden 
to  him,  so  that  he  never  knew  a  moment’s  peace.  After 
he  had  passed  away,  Yiin  T’ang,  on  arriving  here  from  the 
west,  did  not  even  take  the  trouble  to  salute  the  Empress 
Dowager  or  myself.  Instead  of  proceeding  at  once  to 
the  Palace  to  inquire  after  my  health,  he  wrote  to  the 
Board  of  Ceremonies  and  asked  them  to  inform  him  of 
the  prescribed  etiquette.  On  entering  the  Palace  of 
Imperial  Longevity  to  do  obeisance  before  his  father’s 
coffin,  he  saw  that  I  was  kneeling  before  it  in  worship,  but 
he  kept  carefully  out  of  my  way,  and  his  face  showed  no 
signs  of  sorrow,  nor  of  affection  for  myself.  When  I  went 
forward  to  meet  him,  he  remained  unmoved.  La  Hsi, 
who  was  standing  by  his  side,  pulled  him  forward  towards 
me.  Yiin  T’ang  turned  and  reviled  La  Hsi,  after  which 
he  advanced  in  my  direction,  saying  :  11  I  was  trying  to 
show  you  all  possible  respect,  when  La  Hsi  began  dragging 
me  forward.  I  am  the  Emperor’s  own  brother,  yet  this 
fellow  La  Hsi  treats  me  like  a  menial.  If  I  have  mis¬ 
behaved,  let  Your  Majesty  punish  me.  If  I  have  done  no 

279 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


wrong,  then  you  ought  to  behead  La  Hsi  in  order  to 
vindicate  the  law.’  He  had  lost  his  temper  and  behaved 
in  my  presence  like  a  common  brawler.  I  could  hardly 
believe  my  eyes. 

“  On  the  occasion  of  my  father’s  funeral  Yiin  Ti  also 
showed  gross  disrespect  for  the  solemn  ceremonial  and 
engaged  in  altercations  with  La  Hsi  and  Fo  Lun.  On 
my  issuing  a  decree  to  rebuke  him  Yun  Ssu  came  forward 
from  out  the  tent  and  called  out  :  4  Kneel  down  there,’ 
showing  plainly  that  Yun  Ti  obeyed  Yiin  Ssu  in  all  things, 
and  that  his  word  was  law. 

“  As  for  Yiin  O,  he  had  received  an  Imperial  mission  to 
proceed  to  Urga  with  a  message  from  me  to  the  Taranatha 
pontiff;  on  reaching  Kalgan  he  feigned  sickness  and 
declined  to  proceed.  To  Yiin  T’ang  he  sent  private  letters 
with  a  gift  of  horses.  Yiin  T’ang  wrote  in  reply  :  ‘  Alas  ! 
the  opportunity  has  gone  by,  and  we  can  now  only  regret 
that  we  have  missed  the  chance.’  What  could  this  be 
but  treason?  Moreover,  I  know  that  Yiin  O  has  uttered 
incantations  against  my  life. 

“Yiin  Ssu’s  conduct  is  quite  incorrigible;  he  and  his 
brothers  wilfully  persist  in  treasonable  and  perfidious 
conduct.  If  I  were  to  subject  them  all  to  a  criminal 
trial  death  would  be  the  only  possible  penalty.  But  I 
am  too  tender-hearted  to  adopt  such  a  course;  I  desire 
my  brothers  to  continue  to  draw  the  breath  of  life,  so  I 
shall  not  proceed  further,  in  deference  to  what  my  father’s 
wishes  would  have  been.” 

It  seems  certain  that  Yiin  Ssu,  aided  by  his  brothers, 
came  within  an  ace  of  seizing  the  person  of  Yung  Cheng 
and  the  Throne.  Yung  Cheng  feared  to  take  any  strong 
measures  against  the  conspirators,  because  he  felt  that 
there  was  much  discontent  against  his  rule.  A  vigorous 
political  campaign  was  being  carried  on  in  the  south  by 
Yiin  Ssu’s  party,  and  it  was  not  leniency  which  led  the 
Emperor  to  spare  his  brother.  A  little  later  Yiin  Ssu  was 

280 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


again  impeached  for  not  repairing  the  ancestral  temple  in 
a  seemly  manner,  and  for  not  constructing  the  ancestral 
tablet  of  K’ang  Hsi  with  due  reverence.  On  this  occa¬ 
sion  Yung  Cheng  hysterically  complained  that  these  cares 
were  rapidly  driving  him  to  distraction.  He  followed  up 
this  complaint  with  a  decree  attributing  the  inclemency 
of  the  weather  to  Heaven’s  dissatisfaction  with  his  erring 
brethren. 

Yung  Cheng  now  learned  that  his  Commander-in-chief, 
Nien  Keng-yao,  who  had  deserved  well  of  the  State  for 
his  many  victories  over  the  Eleuths,  was  conspiring  in  the 
interests  of  Yiin  Ssu.  Gratitude  was  never  characteristic 
of  the  Manchu  rulers,  except  possibly  in  the  case  of  the 
Old  Buddha.  The  Emperor,  greatly  perturbed,  decided 
that  Nien  Keng-yao  must  be  removed  at  all  costs.  He  was 
therefore  charged  with  “  indulging  in  wicked  behaviour,” 
with  having  ill-treated  the  inhabitants  of  Kokonor,  and 
suppressed  all  reference  to  a  famine  which  had  raged 
there;  he  had  shown  “  excessive  zeal  in  slaughtering,”  and 
generally  misled  the  Throne.  Yung  Cheng  first  trans¬ 
ferred  him  to  the  sinecure  of  Tartar  General  at  Hangchow, 
but  every  one  knew  this  step  was  merely  preliminary,  and 
that  his  final  despatch  was  only  delayed  because  the 
Emperor  feared  to  act  precipitately,  lest  he  should  bring 
about  a  revolt  of  the  troops.  But  the  wretched  Commander 
lost  nothing  by  waiting,  and,  meanwhile,  the  fact  that  the 
armour  of  his  troops  was  reported  to  be  falling  to  pieces, 
afforded  an  opportunity  for  more  criticism  of  the  unlucky 
Yiin  Ssu,  who,  as  head  of  the  Board  of  Works,  was  respon¬ 
sible  for  its  condition.  “  It  is  only  too  plain,”  wrote  the 
Emperor,  “  that  Yiin  Ssu  acts  deliberately  in  not  providing 
my  army  with  proper  armour.  Our  relations  are  like 
those  of  fire  and  water,  or  like  two  countries  at  war.  His 
fixed  idea  is  to  be  in  the  right  himself  and  to  put  me  in  the 
wrong.  My  father  knew  his  real  nature  as  well  as  I  do. 
When  his  foster-mother’s  husband,  Yachi-pu,  was  beheaded 

281 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


for  flagrant  misconduct,  my  father  issued  a  decree  to  all 
of  us  brothers,  in  which  he  said  :  ‘  Henceforward  I  disown 
Yiin  Ssu,  let  him  no  more  be  called  my  son.’  At  that 
time  Yiin  Ssu  appealed  to  me  to  stop  the  publication 
of  the  decree,  saying  that  he  would  ‘  lose  face  5  if  people 
knew  our  father’s  opinion  of  him.  Accordingly,  I  put  it 
away  under  seal,  so  as  to  spare  my  brother’s  feelings. 
But  he  is  a  monster  utterly  incapable  of  gratitude.” 

On  receiving  the  Imperial  mandate,  Nien  Keng-yao 
flatly  declined  to  leave  his  former  post.  “  I  am  informed,” 
says  His  Majesty,  “  that  he  consented  to  have  his  luggage 
sent  on  ahead,  but  has  refused  to  depart  himself,  although 
the  people  were  delighted  on  hearing  of  their  persecutor’s 
impending  removal.  He  is  now  trying  to  pose  as  a 
meritorious  officer  and  thus  to  make  me  appear  in  an 
unbecoming  light  for  unjustifiably  dismissing  my  old 
advisers.  Let  him  hand  over  his  charge  to  his  successor 
forthwith.” 

Yung  Cheng’s  maternal  uncle,  Lung  Ko-to,  was  also 
dismissed  at  this  time  for  being  concerned  in  the  conspiracy. 
“  I  have  treated  both  Nien  Keng-yao  and  Lung  Ko-to 
with  absolute  trust  and  regarded  them  as  my  right-hand 
men.  But  they  have  harboured  rebellious  thoughts  and 
have  rewarded  my  favour  by  conspiring  against  me,  and 
have  besides  attacked  my  reputation.  I  refrain  from 
inflicting  the  severest  penalties  because  I  feel  that  I 
myself  am  to  blame  for  having  been  over  trustful.” 

With  the  contemptible  meanness  and  lack  of  generosity 
which  seems  inseparable  from  Chinese  mandarins  in  the 
mass,  the  Board  of  Appointments  memorialised  the 
Emperor  as  follows  concerning  Nien  Keng-yao’s  case  : 
“  Your  Majesty  has  shown  this  wicked  sinner  all  possible 
benevolence,  but  the  measure  of  his  offences  is  full  to  the 
brim.  Instead  of  proceeding  straight  to  his  new  post 
lie  has  had  the  effrontery  to  linger  at  Yi  Cheng-hsien  in 
Kiangsu,  on  the  ground  that  ‘  its  situation  is  central,’ 

282 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


and  he  has  dared  to  address  you,  saying  :  ‘  I  shall  await 
your  further  instructions  here.’  It  is  difficult  to  guess  his 
real  motives,  but  his  abominable  wickedness  awakens 
universal  detestation  and  exposes  him  to  the  sudden 
visitation  of  Heaven.  We  ask  that  he  be  cashiered, 
deprived  of  the  Dragon  robes  and  decorations  conferred 
upon  him  in  times  past,  and  of  the  purple  reins.1  We 
request  that  he  be  summarily  arrested  and  brought  to 
Peking  in  chains,  there  to  undergo  the  severest  examina¬ 
tion  (under  torture)  and  then  to  be  decapitated,  as  a 
warning  to  disloyal  and  ungrateful  Ministers.”  To  this 
the  Emperor  made  reply  :  “I  previously  asked  Nien 
Keng-yao  for  an  explanation  of  his  outrageous  conduct, 
and  his  answer  was  :  ‘  I  have  acted  in  everything  in 
accordance  with  precedent  and  with  my  position  as 
Commander-in-chief.’  In  times  past,  various  Princes  of 
my  house  have  held  this  post,  but,  with  the  exception  of 
Yun  Ti  (who  is  a  bad  example  to  follow),  none  of  them  has 
ever  dared  to  act  with  the  lawless  arrogance  displayed 
by  Nien  Keng-yao.  He  has  even  gone  beyond  Yim  Ti’s 
atrocities,  and  has  slaughtered  vast  numbers  of  people. 
He  ventures  to  adduce  Yim  Ti  as  a  precedent,  as  if  Yiin 
Ti’s  treasonable  conduct  were  justifiable.  I  now  order 
Nien  Keng-yao  immediately  to  send  in  proper  replies  to 
my  previous  questions.  Why  is  he  delaying  at  Yi  Cheng- 
hsien  and  neglecting  his  duties  in  this  perfunctory  way  ? 
On  the  receipt  of  his  explicit  reply  I  shall  proceed  to  issue 
a  decree  in  reply  to  the  request  of  my  Ministers  for  his 
arrest  and  decapitation.” 

Nien  Keng-yao  had  enjoyed  almost  unlimited  power  in 
the  provinces,  and  his  proteges  held  the  most  important 
posts  throughout  the  country.  All  of  these  were  now 
removed  from  their  lucrative  offices  and  their  places 
taken  by  nominees  of  the  opposing  factions.  It  was  ever 
thus  with  the  Manchu  dynasty;  each  reign  witnessed  the 
1  Usually  bestowed  only  on  Princes. 

283 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


downfall  of  its  predecessor’s  favourites;  and  the  Court, 
anxious  to  share  in  the  plunder  of  their  estates,  invariably 
acquiesced. 

Yung  Cheng  was  very  sensitive  to  public  opinion  and 
did  not  wish  it  to  be  said  that  “  the  bow  was  put  away  in 
obscurity  after  the  birds  had  been  shot,”  or,  in  other  words, 
that  he  was  ungrateful  for  services  rendered  to  the  State. 
Accordingly,  he  invited  the  high  provincial  authorities  to 
memorialise  as  to  what  penalty  should  be  inflicted  on 
Nien;  and  he  was  careful  to  ask  them  to  treat  the  case 
with  complete  impartiality. 

Still  hesitating  to  deal  with  Yun  Ssu,  for  fear  of  precipi¬ 
tating  a  rebellion,  it  was  Yung  Cheng’s  policy  gradually 
to  rid  himself  of  his  brother’s  most  prominent  confederates. 
Two  of  his  first  cousins,  sons  of  Prince  Kung  (a  younger 
brother  of  K’ang  Hsi),  were  sentenced  to  imprisonment, 
one  for  abetting  Yun  Ssu  and  the  other  nominally  for 
“  making  rude  noises  ”  in  the  Emperor’s  presence  on  the 
steps  of  the  Palace  of  “  the  Peaceful  Mean.”  In  the  same 
manner,  Yung  Cheng  dealt  with  Yun  T’ang’s  case,  on  the 
pretext  that  one  of  his  servants  had  beaten  a  graduate  in 
Shansi.  “  During  my  father’s  lifetime,”  said  the  Emperor, 
“Yun  T’ang  was  often  admonished  for  unfilial  conduct,  and 
once  he  had  the  effrontery  to  reply  :  4  The  worst  you  can  do 
to  me  is  to  strip  me  of  my  paltry  fourth  class  princedom.’ 
Whenever  he  was  given  any  fatiguing  duty  to  perform 
he  would  say  to  my  father  :  4  If  you  would  only  put  me  in 
prison  in  the  company  of  my  two  eldest  brothers,  I  should 
have  a  much  easier  life  than  I  lead  at  present.’  We  were 
all  shocked  to  hear  such  language  from  his  lips.  When  the 
late  Emperor  died  there  was  no  vestige  of  tears  in  Yun 
T’ang’s  eyes.  Since  my  accession  he  has  behaved  with 
incurable  haughtiness,  and  has  always  disobeyed  my 
orders.  From  Hsining  he  sent  a  letter  to  Yun  0,  couched 
in  treasonable  language.  When  I  sent  a  messenger  with  a 
decree  to  rebuke  him,  he  showed  no  fear  and  had  the 

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insolence  to  receive  my  envoy  in  his  bedchamber,  instead 
of  kneeling  to  greet  him  in  the  outer  court.  He  has 
squandered  huge  sums  in  Hsining,  hoping  to  make  friends 
for  his  treasonable  designs;  the  people  call  him  the  ninth 
Prince  of  the  blood,  although  he  is  not  entitled  to  any  such 
rank,  being  only  a  Beitze.  I  order,  therefore,  that  he  be 
stripped  at  once  of  his  title  and  emoluments,  and  give 
warning  that  any  one  addressing  him  hereafter  as  Prince 
will  do  so  at  his  peril.” 

Lung  Ko-to,  Yung  Cheng’s  maternal  uncle,  was  the 
next  victim ;  all  the  Imperial  gifts  and  honours  were  taken 
from  him,  which  he  had  received  from  K’ang  Hsi  and  from 
Yung  Cheng  himself. 

The  chief  conspirator  against  Yung  Cheng’s  authority, 
his  brother  Yiin  Ssu,  appears  to  have  been  convinced  that 
the  Emperor  would  not  dare  to  take  extreme  measures 
against  him,  for  notwithstanding  His  Majesty’s  outspoken 
complaints  and  warnings,  he  continued  to  go  his  own 
unlawful  ways.  His  next  move  was  to  send  in  a  memorial 
recommending  that  the  pay  and  allowances  of  the  Imperial 
bannermen,  and  more  particularly  those  of  the  three 
superior  banners,  should  be  raised,  his  evident  object 
being  to  ingratiate  himself  with  the  Manchus  nearest  to 
the  Throne.  His  Majesty’s  chief  cause  of  complaint  on  this 
occasion  was  that  Yiin  Ssu,  in  private  audience,  had 
advised  against  increasing  their  emoluments.  The  Im¬ 
perial  edict  referring  to  this  matter  plaintively  observes  : 
“  All  the  disorderly  and  disreputable  members  of  the 
Household  Banner  Corps  recently  assembled  at  Yiin  Ssu’s 
house  and  started  a  most  unseemly  brawl.  Yet  Yiin  Ssu 
never  reported  the  occurrence,  and  it  was  only  on  the 
following  day  that  I  heard  of  it  from  my  Ministers  of  the 
Household.  Forthwith  I  issued  a  decree  stating  that  no 
strangers  could  be  permitted  to  enter  this  part  of  the 
Palace  where  an  Imperial  concubine  resides  (Yiin  Ssu’s 
mother  lived  with  him,  by  special  permission  of  the 

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THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


covetousness.  There  were  twelve  cases  of  arbitrary  action, 
fifteen  of  appropriating  Government  funds ;  nine  cases  of 
deceiving  his  Imperial  master;  six  cases  of  unjust  suspicion 
of  subordinates,  and  five  of  wanton  cruelty.  The  penalty 
for  the  gravest  of  these  offences,  committed  singly,  was  the 
lingering  death,  and  decapitation  for  many  of  the  others. 
The  memorial  asked  for  his  immediate  execution  by 
dismemberment ;  his  father,  brothers,  sons,  grandsons, 
uncles,  nephews  and  cousins  above  the  age  of  sixteen  to 
be  decapitated.  All  below  that  age,  and  all  the  female 
members  of  the  family,  to  be  given  as  slaves  to  the  families 
of  meritorious  officers.  The  whole  of  his  property  to  be 
confiscate  to  the  Throne  and  his  crimes  published  for 
the  information  of  all  men,  as  a  solemn  warning  for  ages 
to  come,  so  that  traitors  and  disloyal  Ministers  should 
hesitate  to  abuse  their  master’s  confidence  and  display 
atrocious  cruelty. 

To  this  bloodthirsty  indictment  the  Emperor  replied  : 
“Nien  Keng-yao’s  treason  is  manifest  to  all  men;  it  is 
the  inevitable  consequence  of  a  nature  made  up  of  reckless 
presumption  and  gross  depravity.  But  I  call  to  mind  his 
earlier  services  to  my  House  during  the  Kokonor  campaign, 
and  am  loth  to  inflict  upon  him  the  extreme  penalty.  I 
command  that  he  be  given  over  to  the  charge  of  Achitu, 
Prefect  of  the  city,  and  be  allowed  to  commit  suicide.  I 
have  long  been  aware  of  his  obstinate  disposition  and  evil 
hardness  of  heart.  He  has  always  ignored  his  father’s 
admonitions  and  treated  him  and  his  elder  brother  with 
callous  contempt.  I  content  myself  with  cashiering  his 
father  and  brothers.  The  various  Imperial  gifts  bestowed 
upon  the  family  are  to  be  returned  to  me.  His  sons 
are  very  numerous;  one  of  them,  Nien  Fu,  resembles 
his  father  in  character  and  deeds ;  let  him  be  decapitated 
forthwith.  Let  the  rest  of  his  sons  over  fifteen  years  of 
age  be  banished  for  life  to  a  malarious  region  on  the 
remotest  frontiers  of  Yunnan.  His  wife  was  a  member  of 

287 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


the  Imperial  Clan;  let  her  be  sent  back  to  her  father’s 
household.  The  million  or  more  of  his  confiscated  wealth 
is  to  be  handed  to  the  Viceroy  of  Hsian  to  cover  the  sums 
which  Nien  has  embezzled  from  time  to  time.  Property 
belonging  to  the  remainder  of  his  family  is  hereby  exempted 
from  confiscation,  as  an  act  of  grace.  Every  member  of 
his  clan  now  holding  office  is  to  be  cashiered,  and  as  each 
of  his  sons  or  grandsons  reaches  the  age  of  fifteen  years 
he  shall  be  banished  for  life  and  be  exempt  from  all  benefits 
of  Imperial  amnesties.  Any  one  privily  adopting  one  of 
his  sons  or  grandsons  shall  be  subject  to  the  same  penalty 
as  Nien  has  incurred.  His  accomplice  Tsou  Lu  is  to  be 
beheaded,  and  his  family  banished  as  slaves  to  the  Amur.” 

Having  persuaded  and  frightened  the  Imperial  Clan 
Court  into  a  state  of  subservience  and  removed  from 
his  path  the  most  powerful  adherents  of  the  rebellious 
brothers  who  had  incurred  his  bitter  enmity,  the  Emperor 
now  proceeded  to  take  his  long-cherished  vengeance  upon 
Yiin  Ssu.  At  the  same  time,  he  continued  to  keep  a 
watchful  eye  upon  public  opinion  in  Peking  and  in  the 
provinces,  ever  careful  to  put  upon  his  actions  a  gloss  of 
the  utmost  orthodoxy  and  flawless  justice,  to  go  down  to 
posterity  as  the  Superior  Man.  Before  administering 
his  justice,  therefore,  he  proceeded  to  put  a  good  com¬ 
plexion  on  his  actions  in  advance  and  to  prepare  the  public 
mind. 


288 


CHAPTER  XII 


YUNG  CHENG  DISPENSES  JUSTICE 

The  Imperial  Clan  Court,  having  been  purged  of  all 
injudicious  sympathy  for  the  Emperor’s  seditious  brethren, 
dutifully  memorialised  him  with  a  request  that  he  should 
punish  Yiin  T’ang,  “  as  a  warning  to  all  unfilial  and 
disloyal  persons.”  Yung  Cheng,  ingenuously  enough, 
adopted  his  usual  tactics  for  killing  two  birds  with  one 
stone,  and  ordered  Yiin  Ssu  and  Yiin  Ti  to  consider  the 
case  of  their  accused  brother  and  to  recommend  a  suitable 
penalty  for  his  offences.  Their  report  was  naturally  not 
of  a  nature  to  satisfy  the  Court  (which  understood  full 
well  what  was  expected  of  it),  and  it  proceeded  to  urge 
the  Emperor  to  sentence  Yiin  Ssu  to  death  by  decapita¬ 
tion.  Its  members  were,  no  doubt,  anxious  to  make  an 
end  of  these  eternal  wranglings  and  inquiries  in  a  matter 
which,  as  they  knew,  could  only  end  with  the  legal 
murder  of  the  Emperor’s  brothers. 

On  receiving  this  latest  memorial  of  the  Court,  Yung 
Cheng  delivered  himself  of  a  typical  address  to  an  audience 
convened  at  the  Lake  Palace,  at  which  Yiin  Ssu  was 
present  : 

“  If,  on  your  demand,  I  put  Yiin  Ssu  to  death,”  said 
he,  “  and  he  should  hereafter  be  proved  to  have  been 
innocent,  you  will  by  your  act  have  murdered  a  descendant 
of  our  founder  and  thus  place  me  in  the  position  of  an 
unjust  Sovereign.  If  any  of  you  feel  in  his  heart  that 
this  man  does  not  deserve  death,  let  him  now  step  out 
u  289 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


from  his  place  and  kneel  on  my  right  hand.”  Naturally 
enough,  no  one  was  anxious  to  accept  this  invitation,  and 
all  shouted  unanimously  :  “  He  deserves  to  die.”  Yung 
Cheng  then  continued:  “I  fully  endorse  your  opinion; 
the  guilt  of  Yiin  Ssii  makes  him  worthy  of  death; 
nevertheless,  I  have  no  intention  of  beheading  him.  I 
remove  him  from  my  Clan  because  of  the  imprecations 
which  he  dared  to  utter  in  the  presence  of  the  whole 
Court,  when  he  said  that  he  hoped  that  I  and  my  family 
would  come  to  a  bad  end.  I  may  deal  with  his  wife  on  a 
further  occasion.” 

If  the  Emperor  was  sincere  about  lenient  measures,  he 
soon  had  cause  to  change  his  mind;  it  came  to  light  that 
a  Prince  of  the  clan,  named  Lu  Pin,  had  been  a  member 
of  Yiin  Ti’s  party  at  Hsining  and  had  been  employed  by 
that  Prince  to  convey  certain  letters  to  Yiin  Ssu  at 
Peking.  These  letters  spoke  definitely  of  a  plot  for  the 
killing  of  Yung  Cheng,  and  added  disrespectful  references 
to  the  Emperor’s  alleged  illegitimacy,  respecting  which 
matter  Yung  Cheng  was  peculiarly  sensitive.  Worse  than 
all,  when  Yung  Cheng  demanded  an  explanation,  Lu  Pin 
spoke  gratefully  of  Yiin  Ssu  as  his  benefactor.  The 
result  was  perpetual  imprisonment  for  Lu  Pin,  while  Yiin 
Ssii  was  confined  in  the  Forbidden  City  in  a  high- walled 
courtyard,  two  “  respectable  eunuchs  ”  being  told  off  to 
guard  him. 

At  this  point  of  the  tragic  business,  Yung  Cheng  dis¬ 
played  his  vindictiveness  in  a  form  so  derogatory  to  the 
dynasty  of  a  great  State  that  his  edicts  read  like  the 
utterances  of  a  petulant  child  reviling  its  playmates, 
rather  than  the  decrees  of  the  world’s  most  ancient  Throne. 
First  of  all,  he  formally  prescribed  for  Yiin  Ssu  and  Yiin 
T’ang  titles  of  reproach,  by  which  they  were  to  be  known 
officially,  namely,  “  That  disreputable  person  ”  for  the 
one,  and  “  Black-hearted  monster  ”  for  the  other.  As 
for  Yiin  Ti,  the  third  and  least  serious  offender,  he  was 

290 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


dealt  with  at  once,  to  clear  the  ground  for  the  principal 
culprits,  in  the  following  decree  : 

“  Recently  I  sent  Yun  Ti  to  live  near  my  father’s 
sepulchre  in  the  fond  hope  that  the  contemplation  of 
that  holy  spot  might  move  him  to  remorse.  But  he 
has  shown  no  contrite  spirit;  on  the  contrary  he  becomes 
daily  more  incorrigible.  Lately  an  attempt  at  rebellion 
has  been  fomented  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Imperial 
tombs,  and  most  abominable  statements  have  been  cir¬ 
culated  about  my  moral  character.  I  therefore  order 
that  Yun  Ti  be  sent  back  at  once  to  Peking.  He  will 
hereafter  be  confined  in  the  Palace  at  the  back  of  the 
Coal  Hill,  close  to  the  hall  of  Imperial  Longevity,  where 
rest  the  portraits  of  my  parents.  Perchance  he  may  be 
moved  to  repentance  by  their  august  proximity.  His 
son  Pai  Chi  is  thoroughly  evil  and  will  be  imprisoned  with 
his  father.” 

The  Emperor  goes  on  :  “ ‘  That  disreputable  person  ’ 
and  ‘  Black-hearted  monster,’  with  Yun  Ti,  have  been 
wont  to  form  friendships  with  the  lowest  classes  of  society 
in  the  fomenting  of  their  conspiracy  against  me;  they 
consorted  with  bonzes,  lamas,  physicians,  soothsayers, 
astrologers,  physiognomists  and  even  with  mimes,  barbers 
and  Europeans.  The  bond-slaves  of  the  highest  officials 
were  invited  into  their  houses  and  treated  as  honoured 
guests,  to  be  used  as  auxiliaries  to  their  malevolent 
designs.  If  they  wanted  to  ruin  any  member  of  the 
opposite  party  they  would  invent  the  most  wicked  and 
preposterous  stories  about  him,  and  have  them  circulated 
by  these  creatures.  In  this  way  they  expected  to  mislead 
the  foolish  and  unthinking  mob.  My  father  was  exposed 
to  their  calumnies  and  had  always  to  be  on  his  guard 
against  their  base  plots.  On  my  accession  a  common 
tea-house  report  was  in  circulation  to  the  effect  that  I 
was  a  confirmed  drunkard.  I  was  accused  of  habitually 
passing  the  livelong  night  in  carousing  with  Lung  K’o-to, 

291 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


our  revels  ending  with  both  of  us  completely  in  our  cups. 
As  the  result  of  our  alleged  orgies,  Lung  K’o-to  was  said 
to  be  reduced  to  such  a  state  of  blind  intoxication  as  to 
require  bearers  to  carry  him  out  from  the  Forbidden  City. 
It  was  even  alleged  that  he  was  so  completely  oblivious 
to  decorum  as  to  refuse  to  quit  my  Palace,  and  that  he 
and  I,  both  tipsy,  would  indulge  in  common  brawls.  I 
was  accused  of  sleeping  off  my  debauch  in  my  clothes  on 
the  spot  where  I  finally  collapsed.  When  Tsai  Ting  came 
to  Peking  from  Szechuan  and  was  summoned  to  audience 
he  soon  perceived  me  to  be  a  man  of  most  temperate 
habits.  One  day,  naively  enough,  he  memorialised  me 
as  follows  :  ‘  In  Szechuan  it  was  common  gossip  that 
Your  Majesty  was  usually  intoxicated,  but  since  I  have 
come  to  Peking  I  have  observed,  after  constant  attendance 
on  Your  Majesty’s  person  day  and  night,  that  you  never 
touch  a  drop  of  liquor.’  So,  too,  Li  Chen-yang  on 
arriving  here  was  received  in  audience  several  times ; 
before  finally  taking  leave  he  said  to  me  :  ‘  I  have  re¬ 
peatedly  heard  that  since  your  accession  you  have  indulged 
habitually  in  Bacchanalian  orgies;  but  after  having  had 
several  opportunities  of  seeing  you  at  audience,  I  notice 
that  Your  Majesty  is  always  at  work  and  your  breath 
betrays  no  indication  of  the  liquor  habit.’  Many  other 
officials  have  written  or  spoken  in  the  same  sense,  the 
fact,  of  course,  being  that  ‘  That  disreputable  person  ’  and 
his  brother  were  habitual  wine-bibbers  themselves  and 
have  been  often  reproved  by  me  for  their  shameless 
drunkenness.  Therefore  they  callously  invented  this 
accusation,  and  caused  it  to  be  rumoured  and  believed 
all  over  the  Empire  that  I  was  a  hopeless  drunkard. 
The  whole  of  my  Court  knows  well  that  I  cannot  stomach 
wine  at  all.1  Of  a  truth,  men  who  will  invent  such  false¬ 
hoods  about  me  are  capable  of  anything. 

1  Nevertheless,  the  charge  was  true  enough;  Yung  Cheng  was 
addicted  to  drinking  bouts,  as  was  K’ang  Hsi  before  him. 

292 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


“  In  yesterday’s  Court  Gazette  I  note  the  following  : 
‘  On  the  occasion  of  the  Dragon  Festival  the  Princes  and 
Court  all  paid  their  respects  to  His  Majesty  at  Yuan 
Ming-yuan,  after  which  the  Emperor  left  the  Palace  and 
entered  the  Dragon  barge,  while  the  Court  followed  him 
in  thirty  other  boats.  Music  was  played  and  His  Majesty 
presented  every  one  with  “  rush  wine  ”  in  honour  of  the 
festival.  After  an  excursion  lasting  some  hours  the 
Emperor  returned.’ 

“  Now,  if  the  Lord  of  the  Universe,  who  receives  tribute 
from  every  region  under  Heaven,  were  pleased  to  take  a 
boating  excursion  on  a  holiday  and  to  invite  his  Court  to 
partake  of  wine,  it  would  only  be  the  perpetuation  of  an 
ancient  ceremony  and  in  accordance  with  the  example 
set  by  sage  Sovereigns  of  antiquity.  But,  as  it  happens, 
I  issued  special  instructions  that  none  of  my  Court  were 
to  come  out  from  Peking  to  pay  their  respects,  and  I 
confined  myself  to  receiving  the  Princes  actually  resident 
at  the  Summer  Palace.  It  is  highly  improper  of  the 
Gazette  to  insert  such  false  news,  and  I  direct  the  Board 
of  Punishments  to  investigate  the  matter  and  to  find 
out  whence  the  statement  emanated.  It  is  necessary  to 
issue  this  as  a  warning  to  those  who  calumniate  their 
Emperor.” 

The  time  was  now  come  for  less  “  lenient  ”  measures. 
Yung  Cheng  therefore  proceeded  to  address  his  servile 
Court  in  a  long  and  bitter  harangue  recounting  his  brothers’ 
misdeeds,  evidently  intended  as  a  preliminary  to  their 
happy  despatch.  The  report  of  this  speech  is  too  long 
to  give  in  full,  but  a  few  of  its  choicest  passages  will 
serve  to  show  the  ingenuous  puerilities  in  which  the 
Son  of  Heaven  saw  fit  to  indulge.  “  None  of  you  know 
my  brothers’  characters  as  I  do,”  he  said;  “  I  have  had 
the  misfortune  to  live  with  them  for  thirty  years.  By 
bribery  and  corruption  they  have  built  up  around  them¬ 
selves  a  solid  phalanx  of  debauched  and  treacherous 

293 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


criminals.  There  was  not  a  depraved  priest,  physician, 
soothsayer,  rowdy,  actor  or  European,  who  was  not  of 
their  gang.  There  is  no  doubt  at  all  that  these  wicked 
minions  shortened  my  father’s  life  by  their  misdeeds, 
and  for  this  ‘  That  disreputable  person  ’  and  his  brothers 
are  chiefly  to  blame.  ...  It  is  very  certain  that  if  such 
a  man  were  to  ascend  the  Throne  he  would  involve  the 
ancestral  shrines  in  dire  peril.  As  for  the  ‘  Black-hearted 
monster,’  he  is  only  a  fat  fool,  who  combines  flabbiness 
with  clumsy  forms  of  deceit  and  a  shameless  wallowing 
in  debauch.  His  late  Majesty  regarded  him  as  more 
brute  than  man,  while  all  of  us,  his  brothers,  looked  upon 
him  as  a  buffoon  and  a  common  butt.  No  one  realised 
more  clearly  his  blear-eyed  stupidity  than  ‘  That  dis¬ 
reputable  person  ’ ;  nevertheless,  he  used  him  persistently 
to  forward  his  evil  designs. 

“  These  things  being  so,  how  came  it  about  that,  in 
my  father’s  lifetime,  the  people  all  acclaimed  4  That 
disreputable  person  ’  as  a  Buddha,  when  he  took  no 
part  in  Government  affairs  and  had  earned  no  title  to 
fame  ?  It  was  because  his  evil  associates  never  wearied 
of  singing  his  praises  and  thus  induced  the  unthinking 
mob  to  make  an  idol  of  him.  If  he  were  really  a  good 
man,  no  words  of  mine  could  affect  the  popular  judgment. 
My  criticism  would  be  wasted.  Now  that  I  have  exposed 
his  real  character  I  shall  be  much  interested  to  hear 
what  resemblance  any  of  you  can  trace  between  him  and 
the  Buddha  !  In  my  father’s  reign  it  would  have  been 
an  easy  matter  for  me  to  have  gained  popularity  by  cheap 
displays  of  patronage;  I  preferred,  however,  to  remain 
in  honourable  obscurity  and  to  minister  to  my  father’s 
wants.  I  never  schemed  for  the  Throne,  and  whenever 
any  of  my  brothers  offended  my  father  I  always  inter¬ 
vened  to  shield  the  culprit.  This  was  not  so  much  in 
the  interest  of  my  brothers,  as  because  I  dreaded  the 
effect  of  excessive  wrath  on  my  venerable  parent.  Had 

294 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


I  ever  coveted  the  Throne  there  would  have  been  no 
occasion  for  me  to  cherish  resentment  against  my  brothers, 
once  my  ambition  had  been  gratified  and  I  had  become 
the  Sovereign.  My  quarrel  with  them  rests  on  other 
and  broader  grounds.  During  my  father’s  reign  lavish 
fortune  emptied  her  horn  upon  me,  and  it  would  have 
been  beneath  my  dignity  to  associate,  still  less  to  quarrel, 
with  men  of  my  brothers’  low  type. 

“  If  they  have  hoped  to  turn  me  from  my  duty  and  to 
make  me  cease  from  my  merciless  campaign  against 
corruption  in  high  places  they  must  indeed  take  me 
for  a  coward.  When  the  people  presume  to  call  ‘  That 
disreputable  person  ’  a  Buddha,  which  of  his  devilish 
qualities,  I  wonder,  appeals  to  their  imagination  ?  Is  a 
monster  of  impiety  and  disloyalty  worthy  of  the  title  of 
saint?  If  he  be  a  Buddha,  he  is  the  first  of  the  type  in 
history  !  Why  is  it  that  baseless  rumours  are  circulated 
of  the  nation’s  hatred  towards  me  ?  Am  I  to  suppose 
it  is  because  I  have  punished  those  who  plot  against 
my  life  and  Throne  ? 

“  Our  Manchu  house  has  now  held  its  Imperial  sway 
for  a  century,  and  the  clans  have  basked  in  the  benevolence 
of  my  four  predecessors.  In  due  course  I  succeeded  to 
this  goodly  heritage,  and  even  as  one  sun  reigns  in  Heaven, 
so  only  one  Sovereign  may  rule  the  Empire.  It  is  incre¬ 
dible  that  my  loyal  Manchus  should  swerve  from  their 
devotion  to  their  sovereign  lord  and  allow  themselves 
to  be  misled  by  the  seditious  arguments  of  evil  traitors 
and  fratricidal  monsters.  I  am  convinced  that  my  present 
decree  will  come  to  them  as  a  great  shock,  and  that  the 
wickedness  of  ‘  That  disreputable  person  ’  and  his  brothers 
will  be  like  the  revelation  of  a  lightning  flash. 

“  The  former  memorial  of  the  Princes  and  Court,  which 
urged  the  immediate  decapitation  of  my  three  pernicious 
brothers,  was  absolutely  warranted  by  the  facts.  Death 
is  the  penalty  which  they  merit,  and  if  I  decide  to  execute 

295 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 

them  no  one  can  possibly  blame  me.  But  for  the  present, 
I  am  willing  that  they  should  draw  the  breath  of  life  yet 
a  while  longer.” 

The  Court  next  advised  that  the  two  offending  Princes 
should  be  dismembered  and  that  the  whole  of  their 
estates  be  confiscated.  It  recounted  the  crimes  of  “  That 
disreputable  person  ”  under  forty  headings,  of  which 
two  may  be  quoted  as  fair  samples  : 

“  (1)  On  the  occasion  of  his  mother’s  death  he  showed 
disgraceful  disregard  of  etiquette,  by  affecting  excess  of 
grief;  even  after  the  hundred  days  of  mourning  were 
over,  he  needed  to  be  assisted  as  he  walked.  At  the 
same  time,  while  professing  to  observe  thrifty  simplicity 
in  his  diet,  he  was  having  luxurious  fare  brought  him 
privily  to  his  chamber  (which  adjoined  his  mother’s 
coffin),  through  the  connivance  of  his  brothers.  On  this 
he  regaled  himself  in  epicurean  style,  his  table  groaning 
under  its  weight  of  viands.  When  the  days  of  mourning 
were  over  he  had  actually  put  on  weight,  and  his  face 
indicated  every  symptom  of  gross  living.  (2)  His  wife 
has  always  behaved  in  a  most  unwomanlike  manner,  and 
the  late  Emperor  issued  orders  that  she  was  to  betake 
herself  back  to  her  own  family.  One  of  Yun  Ssu’s  con¬ 
cubines  recommended  him  to  apologise  to  the  Emperor 
on  her  behalf,  but  he  angrily  replied  :  ‘  I  am  her  husband. 
Who  ever  heard  of  a  husband  interceding  with  another 
man  about  his  own  womenkind?  ’  This  same  concubine 
was  so  greatly  distressed  by  his  habitual  and  gross 
debauchery  that  she  hanged  herself.” 

After  preferring  a  number  of  equally  puerile  charges 
against  the  “  Black-hearted  monster  ”  and  Yun  Ti,  and 
quoting  the  dictum  of  K’ang  Hsi  that  rebellious  sons 
deserved  death  as  public  enemies,  the  Court  requested 
Yung  Cheng  to  order  the  decapitation  of  the  three  offend¬ 
ing  Princes,  “  as  a  warning  to  traitors  for  ten  thousand 
generations.”  To  this  the  Emperor  replied  that  he  found 

296 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


himself  in  a  position  of  extreme  embarrassment ;  evidently, 
brothers  like  these  were  not  to  be  moved  by  advice  nor 
to  be  reformed  by  example.  Many  details  had  been 
omitted  in  the  memorial,  and  their  conduct  was  even 
blacker  than  his  Court  was  aware.  If  he  refrained  from 
putting  them  to  death  he  would  be  guilty  of  irreverence 
to  his  ancestors.  He  could  not  allow  any  pain  he  might 
feel  to  prevent  him  from  carrying  out  a  disagreeable  duty. 
Yiin  Ti’s  guilt  was  less  than  that  of  his  brothers’,  and 
perhaps  he  might  yet  repent  if  granted  a  reprieve.  As 
to  the  other  two,  he  was  in  an  awkward  position  and  needed 
time  for  further  reflection.  He  hoped  that  the  Empire 
would  appreciate  the  difficulties  under  which  he  laboured, 
and  would  believe  that  he  was  acting  solely  so  as  to 
secure  law  and  order  for  the  country  and  the  tranquillity 
of  the  ancestral  shrines  and  tutelary  deities. 

No  one  knew  better  than  Yung  Cheng  that  a  public 
execution  of  his  brothers  would  create  a  strong  public 
opinion  against  him ;  he  knew  full  well  the  strength  of 
their  party,  and  had  to  be  wary,  if  he  wished  to  avoid 
a  rebellion.  His  illegitimacy  1  was  matter  of  common 
report,  and  he  was  hated  for  his  tyranny  and  greed,  so 

1  The  Chinese  annalist  “  Born  out  of  Time,”  already  referred  to 
{vide  supra,  p.  230),  gives  the  following  explanation  of  the  much- 
discussed  illegitimacy  of  Yung  Cheng.  The  Emperor  K’ang  Hsi,  not 
content  with  the  multitudinous  domesticity  of  the  Palace,  had  a 
roving  eye  and  a  highly  susceptible  nature.  In  one  of  his  excursions 
to  a  temple  fair,  he  was  struck  by  the  beauty  of  a  young  married 
woman,  and  having  sent  a  eunuch  to  discover  her  identity,  invited  the 
lady  to  take  up  her  residence  in  the  Palace,  and  conferred  upon  her 
husband  (named  Wei)  a  lucrative  post.  Six  months  after  her  installa¬ 
tion  as  an  Imperial  concubine  of  the  fifth  rank,  the  Lady  Wuya  (as 
she  was  called)  gave  birth  to  a  son,  who  was  recognised  as  K’ang  Hsi’s 
fourth  born,  but  who  (as  His  Majesty  well  knew)  was  no  son  of  his. 
The  Monarch  remained  devoted  to  Lady  Wuya,  and  eventually  con¬ 
ferred  the  succession  upon  her  son,  who  became  the  Emperor  Yung 
Cheng.  The  conspiracy  of  Yung  Cheng’s  brothers  against  him  is 
explained  and  justified  by  this  annalist,  on  the  grounds  of  his  illegitimacy 
and  usurpation,  but  his  narrative  contains  much  internal  evidence  to 
show  that  he  relies  upon  a  fertile  imagination  for  most  of  his  facts. 

297 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


he  hastened  slowly.  About  two  months  after  the  issue 
of  his  decree  postponing  judgment  in  his  brother’s  case, 
the  Viceroy  of  Chihli  sent  word  from  Pao  Ting-fu,  where 
“  Black-hearted  monster  ”  was  imprisoned,  that  the 
Prince  had  died  of  dysentery.  The  fact  was  that  he 
had  been  strangled  by  the  Emperor’s  order.  In  his 
decree,  rejoicing  over  the  victim’s  death  as  a  judgment 
of  offended  Heaven,  he  alludes  again  to  the  tale  of  his 
offences  :  “  Many  years  ago  there  was  a  disreputable  and 
impecunious  native  of  Shansi  in  Peking,  who  became 
4  Black-hearted  monster’s  ’  chosen  friend.  This  man 
had  received  presents  of  money  from  the  Prince  and 
was  so  grateful  that,  when  his  patron  was  banished  to 
Hsining,  he,  too,  proceeded  thither  and  handed  him  a 
letter  in  which  he  had  written  :  4  I  should  like  to  devote 
myself  to  the  cause  of  a  virtuous  Emperor,  and  do  not 
wish  to  be  the  subject  of  a  cruel  and  unjust  Sovereign. 
I  mean  to  stir  up  rebellion  among  the  troops  and  people 
of  Shansi  and  Ssuch’uan  in  order  to  overthrow  the  present 
Emperor  and  to  deliver  my  good  master  from  bondage.’ 
Yet  when  4  Black-hearted  monster  ’  heard  these  terrible 
utterances  of  rankest  treason,  he  merely  remarked  : 
4  Oh  !  we  brothers  cannot  expect  to  secure  the  Throne.’ 
Then,  too,  when  he  was  at  Hsining,  he  sent  back  some 
of  his  eunuch  staff  to  Peking  and  gave  them  as  parting 
gifts  expensive  articles,  such  as  European  watches  and 
other  curios.  It  was  plain  that  he  wished  to  curry 
favour  so  as  to  further  his  designs  on  the  Throne.  When 
I  heard  of  his  sickness  some  time  ago  I  ordered  the 
officials  to  send  a  competent  physician  to  treat  the 
dysentery  from  which  he  was  suffering. 

“  But  the  cup  of  his  offences  was  full  to  the  very  brim; 
Heaven  and  my  ancestors,  against  whom  he  had  so 
grievously  sinned,  were  about  to  visit  him  with  death. 
Truly,  the  way  of  the  wicked  does  not  prosper ;  the 
wages  of  sin  is  as  certain  as  death,  or  as  the  reverberations 

298 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


of  an  echo.  He  has  escaped  punishment  at  the  hands 
of  man,  but  was  not  fated  to  escape  the  wrath  of  offended 
Heaven.  The  Viceroy  is  to  arrange  for  his  burial,  and 
his  family  is  to  be  brought  back  from  Hsining.  I  am 
to  be  informed  when  their  arrival  may  be  expected. 
When  I  summoned  ‘  Black-hearted  monster  ’  here  from 
Hsining,  I  was  much  astonished  to  learn  that  he  had 
been  placed  in  shackles,  although  I  had  given  no  orders 
to  this  effect.  The  persons  who  adjusted  the  shackles 
fastened  them  very  loosely,  so  that  he  was  able  to  remove 
them  from  his  limbs.  I  said  nothing  about  this  infor¬ 
mality  at  the  time,  because  I  did  not  wish  it  to  be  thought 
that  I  was  dealing  over  harshly  with  my  brother.  But 
the  offence  is  unpardonable,  and  the  parties  responsible 
are  to  be  placed  in  chains  and  subjected  to  severe 
examination.” 

One  brother  having  died,  Yung  Cheng  thought  to 
deceive  posterity  (his  own  Court  were  too  well  aware  of 
the  facts  to  be  thus  hoodwinked)  by  asking  the  Ministers 
whether  they  thought  he  could  safely  pardon  “  Disre¬ 
putable  person  ”  now  that  one  of  the  conspirators  was 
dead.  Officials  from  all  parts  of  the  Empire  were  asked 
to  report  on  this  delicate  question. 

Yung  Cheng  next  ordered  the  arrest  and  trial  of  Ch’u 
Tsung,  the  Viceroy  of  Kan-su  and  former  gaoler  of  his 
dead  brother,  on  the  ground  that  he  had  not  reported 
“  Black-hearted  monster’s  ”  dealings  with  the  European 
Mu  Ching-yuan,  and  had  even  memorialised  the  Emperor, 
saying  that  the  Prince’s  popularity  was  a  source  of 
danger  to  the  Throne,  and  that  it  would  be  best  to  bring 
him  back  to  Peking,  where  he  could  be  more  carefully 
guarded.  The  Emperor  observed  that  the  Viceroy  was 
evidently  trying  to  frighten  him  with  empty  threats. 
“  Knowing  that  he  was  guilty  of  gross  disrespect  in  thus 
memorialising,  he  has  tried  to  cover  up  his  fault  in  a 
cheap  attempt  to  win  my  favour  by  placing  my  brother 

299 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


in  shackles  on  the  journey  from  Kansu.  His  conduct 
was  calculated  to  turn  public  opinion  against  me  for 
undue  cruelty,  and  if  he  meant  the  man  to  be  in  shackles 
he  should  at  least  have  seen  that  they  were  not  loosely 
fastened.” 

A  month  later  “  That  disreputable  person  ”  was  re¬ 
ported  to  be  dying  of  blood-spitting  in  his  prison  at  the 
Coal  Hill,  near  the  Palace.  He,  too,  was  put  to  death  by 
the  Emperor’s  orders.  The  Court  asked  that  his  corpse 
might  be  decapitated,  a  punishment  which  the  merciful 
Monarch  graciously  remitted. 

Of  the  third  brother,  Yiin  Ti,  who  was  still  confined 
near  “  the  august  portraits  of  his  father  and  mother,” 
in  the  Hall  of  Imperial  Longevity,  Yung  Cheng  said  : 
“  Yiin  Ti’s  guilt  is  less  than  that  of  the  two  prime  offenders. 
On  a  previous  occasion  he  was  furious  with  my  father 
for  placing  Yiin  Ssu  under  arrest,  and  even  threatened 
me  for  not  pleading  on  his  behalf.  It  was  then  that  he 
expressed  a  desire  to  die.  I  am,  therefore,  sending  to  ask 
if  he  is  still  of  the  same  mind.”  The  message  was 
“  When  our  father  was  living  you  said  you  would  like 
to  die  with  Yiin  Ssu;  now  he  is  dead,  and  if  you  so  desire, 
you  are  welcome  to  take  a  look  at  his  remains.  You  are 
also  at  liberty  to  kill  yourself  by  his  side  if  you  see  fit.” 
To  this  Yiin  Ti  replied  :  “  I  was  befooled  by  ‘  That 
disreputable  person,’  and  have  no  desire  whatever  to 
see  him  again,  now  that  Heaven  has  punished  him  as 
he  deserved.”  On  this  the  Emperor  observed  :  “  The 
above  reply  would  indicate  that  Yiin  Ti  is  inclining  towards 
a  better  mind,  but  it  is  not  improbable  that  he  only 
adopts  this  attitude  in  order  to  save  his  neck,  and  still 
hopes  to  be  revenged  against  me  by  and  by.  It  is  hard 
to  say,  but  for  the  moment  I  commute  his  sentence  of 
decapitation,  and  shall  watch  him  carefully  in  future. 
If  he  does  not  amend,  the  sentence  will  be  duly  carried 
out.  As  to  my  brother  Yun  O,  he  is  only  half-witted, 

300 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


and  it  would  be  unfair  to  sentence  him  to  the  same 
penalty  as  the  two  chief  criminals.  He  will  be  confined 
in  prison  for  life,  and  for  him  the  extreme  penalty  is 
hereby  remitted.” 

Some  years  later  the  Emperor  imprisoned  his  third 
elder  brother,  Yiin  Chih,  Prince  Ch’eng,  on  the  Coal  Hill 
(that  favourite  site  for  princely  offenders),  and  he,  too, 
died  by  violence.  The  eldest  brother,  Yiin  Ch’ih,  was 
still  confined  in  his  own  residence,  and  died  in  1734. 
On  Ch’ien  Lung’s  accession  the  surviving  Princes  were 
all  released  and  their  titles  were  restored  to  them.  In 
1778,  that  Sovereign  re-opened  the  process  against  Yiin  Ssii 
and  Yiin  T’ang,  and  posthumously  restored  their  original 
titles,  replacing  them  on  the  Imperial  Clan  register. 

The  remainder  of  Yung  Cheng’s  reign  was  disturbed 
by  sedition  all  over  the  Empire,  notably  in  Hunan  and 
Ssuchuan.  Repressive  measures  of  the  sternest  kind 
were  carried  out  and  many  thousands  were  beheaded; 
nevertheless,  scholars  and  patriots  wrote  violently  against 
the  Manchu  dynasty,  pointing  out  that  the  clan’ s  internal 
dissensions  and  the  Emperor’s  vindictive  policy  were  a 
source  of  unrest  to  the  whole  country.  Hundreds  of 
seditious  pamphlets  were  seized  by  the  authorities,  but 
they  served  their  purpose  in  sowing  in  the  minds  of  the 
people  seeds  of  distrust,  forerunners  of  rebellion  against 
the  Tartar  rule.  The  Emperor,  who  had  a  keen  sense 
of  the  need  of  moral  qualities  on  the  Throne  and  the 
value  of  popular  endorsement  of  its  government,  issued 
many  long  explanations  intended  to  reassure  the  public 
mind  concerning  the  death  of  his  brothers.  Edicts,  in 
the  form  of  apologice  for  the  Manchu  dynasty,  were 
promulgated  throughout  all  the  land ;  they  ran  into 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  words.  Yung  Cheng  realised 
that  the  people,  and  especially  the  literati,  who  had 
prospered  and  rejoiced  under  the  wise  and  dignified  rule 
of  K’ang  Hsi,  were  already  becoming  restive  under  his 

301 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


own,  and  that  the  ominous  word  “  alien  ”  was  again  in 
men’s  mouths.  He  made  it,  therefore,  his  special  business 
to  defend  the  Manchu’s  alien  origin,  quoting  Mencius  to 
show  that  some  of  the  best  Monarchs  of  China’s  revered 
antiquity  (such  as  the  sage  Emperor  Shun)  had  come 
of  a  foreign  stock.1  But  the  fact  was  patent  that  his 
misrule  was  rapidly  undermining  the  prestige  of  the 
house  of  Nurhachi,  and  it  may  safely  be  said  that,  had 
it  continued,  the  dynasty  would  soon  have  gone  under. 
His  death  came  as  a  great  relief  to  Peking  and  to  the 
provinces  alike. 

A  modern  Chinese  commentator,  referring  to  the 
cruelty  and  base  ingratitude  of  the  treatment  meted 
out  to  General  Nien  Keng-yao  by  his  Sovereign,2  observes  : 
“  How  can  a  dynasty  which  produces  Emperors  of  this 
type  hope  to  retain  the  mandate  of  Heaven  ?  and  where, 
throughout  all  its  annals,  do  we  find  instances  of  loyalty 
and  generous  sympathy  for  those  who  have  sacrificed  all 
in  its  cause  ?  All  the  Sovereigns  of  the  dynasty — K’ang 
Hsi,  Yung  Cheng,  Chia  Ch’ing  and  the  rest — are  alike  in 
this  respect.  Only  in  the  edicts  and  actions  of  the 
great  Tzu  Hsi  do  we  find  occasional  gleams  of  nobler 
impulses,  qualities  of  generosity  and  loyalty  which  evoke 
the  more  admiration  when  we  compare  them  with  the 
record  of  her  predecessors,  face-saving  hypocrites  and 
literary  humbugs  all.” 

1  Precisely  the  same  arguments  were  used  by  the  last  Regent,  when 
terrified  by  the  advance  of  the  revolutionary  movement  in  1911. 

2  At  the  conclusion  of  a  long  and  very  literary  farewell  message  to 
this  old  and  trusted  servant  of  the  State,  when  conveying  to  him  the 
Throne’s  permission  to  commit  suicide,  Yung  Cheng  observed  :  “  As 
I  peruse  the  State  paper,  I  weep  bitterly ;  but  as  Lord  of  the  universe, 
I  am  bound  to  display  unswerving  justice  in  the  matter  of  rewards  and 
punishments.  I  remit  the  penalty  of  decapitation  and  grant  you  the 
privilege  of  suicide.  With  lavish  generosity  and  merciful  forbearance 
I  have  spared  the  lives  of  the  rest  of  your  family,  with  one  exception. 
You  must  be  stock  or  stone,  if,  even  at  the  moment  of  death,  you  fail 
to  shed  tears  of  joy  and  gratitude  for  the  benefits  conferred  upon  you 
by  the  Imperial  master  whom  you  have  so  foully  betrayed. 

302 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


Nevertheless,  beyond  the  turbid  atmosphere  of  his 
domestic  circle  and  fratricidal  activities,  Yung  Cheng 
was  a  painstaking  and  earnest  worker,  with  a  good 
literary  style  and  scholarly  ambition,  virtues  which  have 
done  much  to  preserve  his  memory  from  utter  contempt. 
He  had  a  marked  penchant  for  writing  annotations  on 
memorials  and  impromptu  rescripts,  and  to  do  him  justice 
he  did  it  very  well.  Yung  Cheng’s  rescripts  were  pub¬ 
lished  by  his  successor,  the  Emperor  Ch’ien  Lung ;  together 
with  the  memorials  to  which  they  were  appended,  they 
fill  some  sixty  large  volumes,  a  monumental  witness  to 
His  Majesty’s  industry.1  In  certain  cases  he  was  wont 
to  append  caustic  or  ironical  comments ;  in  others  he 
would  dismiss  the  memorialist’s  statement  with  a  laconic 
“  Ridiculous  ”  or  “  Quite  absurd.”  In  one  instance  his 
marginal  note  says  :  “You  evidently  take  me  for  a  fool, 
but  you  forget  that  I  was  over  forty  when  I  came  to  the 
Throne,  and  that  I  know  quite  well  how  my  officials 
make  their  money.  Before  I  came  to  the  Throne  I  had 
heard  your  name  connected  with  a  discreditable  case  of 
bribery.  In  fact,  if  I  mistake  not,  you  then  endeavoured 
to  secure  my  influence  with  His  late  Majesty  by  offering 
me  presents.  Have  a  care ;  my  eye  is  upon  you.”  To 
another  memorialist  he  writes  :  “  I  do  not  know  you  by 
sight,  but  your  reputation  is  well  known  to  me,  and 
I  admire  the  efforts  you  are  making  to  g(wern  your 

1  The  Regent,  Prince  Ch’un  (appointed  by  Tzu  Hsi  in  November  1908, 
to  administer  the  Government  during  the  minority  of  the  child  Emperor, 
his  son,  Hsiian  T’ung)  imitated  this  example  during  the  brief  period 
of  his  singularly  ineffective  Regency.  A  remarkably  stupid  man, 
and  timid  withal,  he  realised  the  Chinese  people’s  innate  reverence  for 
a  scholar,  and  so  endeavoured  to  gain  fame  from  literary  rescripts  to 
memorials.  But  having  no  scholarship  of  his  own,  he  took  the  wise 
precaution  of  getting  these  written  by  Chang  Chih-tung,  the  ablest 
pen  in  the  Empire,  and  hoped  for  some  share  of  the  credit  for  their 
excellence.  Unfortunately,  Chang  Chih-tung  died,  and  thereafter 
the  Regent  abandoned  his  habit  of  literary  rescripts,  contenting  him¬ 
self  with  an  occasional  “  Good,”  in  an  infantine  hand,  as  a  marginal 
note  to  some  platitude  which  pleased  his  fancy. 

303 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


province.”  Again,  a  certain  official,  on  being  rebuked  by 
Yung  Cheng,  replied  that  shame  and  fear  had  combined 
in  his  mind,  so  that  he  knew  not  how  to  bear  his  remorse. 
Yung  Cheng  replied  :  “  I  fully  believe  in  your  fears,  but 
I  have  my  doubts  as  to  your  shame  and  remorse.  Of 
these  I  shall  judge  by  your  future  conduct  rather  than 
by  your  present  protestations.”  In  criminal  cases  he 
was  apt  to  assume  the  role  of  counsel  for  the  defence,  or 
rather  of  a  friendly  judge  of  appeal.  In  one  instance  the 
provincial  authorities  recommended  decapitation  for  a 
wife  who  had  murdered  her  husband.  After  reviewing 
the  evidence,  as  presented  in  the  memorial,  Yung  Cheng 
observed  :  “  I  have  no  doubt  but  that  this  woman  mur¬ 
dered  her  husband  for  proposing  to  her  that  she  should 
earn  money  for  him  by  prostitution;  her  conduct  was 
wholly  admirable,  and  deserves  no  punishment  whatsoever. 
On  the  contrary,  I  order  that  a  memorial  arch  be  erected 
in  her  honour.”  In  all  cases  where  he  suspected 
treasonable  writing,  he  showed  great  harshness.  Scholars 
frequently  criticised  his  unpopular  government  by  in¬ 
nuendo,  and  on  them  he  invariably  inflicted  the  death 
penalty.  For  instance,  when  a  certain  poet  wrote  : 
“  To-morrow  at  dawn  I  shall  enter  the  bright  capital  ” 
(Ming  chao  ju  ching  tu),  the  Emperor’s  attention  was 
drawn  to  the  verses  and  to  the  fact  that  these  characters 
might  also  mean  (and  probably  were  intended  to  mean) 
“  The  Ming  dynasty  enters  the  Ching,  or  Manchu,  capital.” 
At  any  rate,  this  was  the  interpretation  which  Yung  Cheng 
chose  to  place  on  the  line,  and  the  poet  expiated  his 
double-entendre  on  the  scaffold. 

Yung  Cheng  was  by  nature  suspicious  and  inconstant; 
but  certain  of  his  favourite  Ministers  enjoyed  his  goodwill 
to  the  end,  and  it  is  possible  that,  but  for  his  unfortunate 
family  troubles,  he  might  have  left  a  better  record. 
Despite  his  persecution  of  the  Christian  religion,  more 
than  one  of  the  Roman  Catholic  fathers  then  living  at 

304 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


Peking  has  written  of  his  public  and  private  life  in  terms 
that  imply  certain  good  qualities  in  his  character.1  Also 
his  handling  of  affairs,  outside  those  of  his  family  circle, 
seems  to  indicate  a  certain  sense  of  humour.  For  in¬ 
stance,  one  of  his  favourite  Ministers,  named  T’ien  Wen¬ 
ching,  was  a  good  administrator,  but  a  poor  scholar. 
T’ien,  aware  of  his  own  shortcomings,  relied  for  the 
performance  of  the  literary  part  of  his  duties  on  the 
services  of  a  notable  scholar,  named  Wu,  whose  work 
is  quoted  and  admired  to  this  day.  When  T’ien  was 
serving  as  Director-General  of  the  Yellow  River  Con¬ 
servancy,  it  was  Wu  who  advised  him  to  impeach  Yung 
Cheng’s  uncle,  the  Duke  Lung  K’o-to,  brother  of  the 
Empress  Dowager,  an  act  which  secured  for  him  high 
promotion  and  Imperial  favour.  Mr.  Secretary  Wu,  who 
had  sources  of  private  information  about  the  Court,  had 
learned  that  His  Majesty  was  growing  weary  of  his 
uncle’s  presence  and  patronising  ways,2  and  therefore 
advised  his  employer  to  indite  this  memorial  of  impeach¬ 
ment,  at  a  moment  when  the  Emperor  was  seeking  a 
pretext  for  ridding  himself  of  his  uncle.  T’ien’s  fortune 
was  made,  but  he  failed  to  display  the  kind  of  gratitude 
that  his  secretary  expected,  and  Wu,  greatly  offended, 
resigned  from  his  service.  From  that  day,  T’ien’s  me¬ 
morials  and  despatches  lost  the  literary  quality  which  Yung 
Cheng  expected  in  his  high  officials,  and  drew  from  the 
fastidious  Monarch  sarcastic  rescripts  and  criticisms  as 
to  their  contents  and  style.  Finally,  T’ien  was  compelled 
to  implore  Wu  to  return  to  him,  which  the  secretary 
consented  to  do  only  on  condition  that  he  was  to  be 
paid  a  “  shoe  ”  of  silver  (50  taels)  every  morning  before 
the  day’s  work  began.  By  his  aid,  T’ien  recovered  and 

1  Vide  Histoire  Generate  de  la  Chine,  Mailia,  Vol.  XI,  p.  370. 

2  Lung  K’o-to  had  been  very  intimate  with  Yung  Cheng  before  his 
accession,  and  had  been  instrumental  in  persuading  K’ang  Hsi  to 
appoint  him  to  the  Throne. 

x 


305 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


retained  the  Imperial  favour;  but  Yung  Cheng  was  well 
aware  of  the  authorship  of  the  literary  gems  in  T’ien’s 
official  documents,  for  on  one  occasion,  when  the  Minister 
had  sent  in  a  memorial  inquiring  after  his  health,  the 
Emperor’s  rescript  read  :  “  Our  health  is  good;  how  goes 
that  of  Mr.  Secretary  Wu?”  Eventually,  after  T’ien’s 
death,  the  Emperor  engaged  Wu’s  services  for  the  Palace. 

Whatever  Yung  Cheng’s  defects,  however  bad  his  rule, 
he  was,  at  least,  not  guilty  of  the  ignominious  folly  which 
led  a  later  generation  of  his  dynasty  to  give  their  con¬ 
fidence,  and  delegate  their  authority,  to  the  eunuch 
servants  of  the  Palace,  that  crime  against  the  State  to 
which  Tzu  Hsi  (guilty  of  it  herself)  ascribed  the  downfall 
of  the  Manchu  power.  Yung  Cheng  kept  his  eunuchs 
in  their  proper  place,  employing  them  as  servants  and 
actors,  but  allowing  them  no  voice  in  the  administration 
of  the  Government  nor  any  recognised  opportunities  for 
levying  blackmail  on  the  official  class.  Of  his  attitude 
towards  the  eunuchs  of  his  own  household  it  is  recorded 
that,  on  a  certain  occasion,  one  of  them,  an  admirable 
actor  and  raconteur ,  had  delighted  the  Court  by  an 
unusually  excellent  performance.  Upon  the  conclusion 
of  the  play  the  Emperor  summoned  the  man  to  his  own 
table,  gave  him  food  and  wine,  and  ordered  him  to  tell 
some  theatrical  stories.  Elated  by  his  master’s  favour 
the  eunuch  chatted  away,  and  eventually  made  allusion 
to  the  part  of  Cheng  Tan,  which  he  had  just  been  playing 
(in  a  famous  piece  called  “  Cheng  Tan  slaying  his  son  ”). 
At  last  he  made  bold  to  remark  :  “In  olden  times  this 
Cheng  Tan  was  Department  Magistrate  of  Ch’ang  Chou-fu 
in  Kiangsu.  Can  Your  Majesty  1  tell  me  who  is  now 
the  Department  Magistrate  at  Ch’ang  Chou?”  (This 
he  meant  as  a  delicate  hint  that  the  Emperor  should 
bestow  upon  him  the  post  of  magistrate,  a  thing  strictly 

1  He  used  the  colloquial  expression  “  Yell  ”  (Master)  employed  by 
eunuchs  in  addressing  the  Emperor. 

306 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


forbidden  by  the  dynastic  house-law.)  The  Emperor’s 
countenance  darkened,  says  the  chronicler,  till  it  became 
black  as  thunder.  “  How  dare  you,  a  eunuch  minion, 
ask  Us  about  Our  officials?  What  have  you  to  do  with 
such  matters  ?  ”  He  then  called  to  his  bodyguard  :  “  Have 
the  creature  beaten  with  the  heavy  bamboo  here  and  now ; 
We  will  witness  his  chastisement.”  The  eunuch  whined 
for  mercy,  but  Yung  Cheng  was  obdurate.  After  a  few 
strokes  of  the  bamboo  the  culprit  fainted;  the  Emperor 
then  ordered  that  he  be  ejected  from  the  Palace  and 
banished  to  a  pestilential  part  of  Yunnan,  as  a  slave  to 
the  Manchu  garrison  troops  of  that  frontier  province. 

Despite  his  proscription  of  the  Roman  Catholic  mission 
and  the  expulsion  of  the  priests  to  Macao  and  Canton, 
Yung  Cheng’s  attitude  towards  the  head  of  this  religion 
was  courteous  and  even  friendly.1  This  may  have  been 
due  to  recollection  of  the  benefits  derived  by  his  father’s 
and  grandfather’s  intercourse  with  the  Jesuit  fathers,  or 
to  a  vague  sense  that  the  spiritual  Chief  of  men,  so  devoted 
and  so  learned,  deserved  the  respect  of  scholars,  even 
though,  for  political  reasons,  the  activities  of  the  missions 
had  to  be  suppressed  throughout  his  Empire.  At  all 
events,  the  annals  of  his  reign  record  more  than  one 
instance  of  a  courteous  and  conciliatory  attitude  towards 
the  Vatican.  Witness  the  following  letter  addressed  to 
Pope  Benedict  XIII  in  the  year  1725. 

“  A  decree  to  the  religious  Prince  of  the  West.  I  have 
perused  your  memorial  and  have  examined  the  tribute 
which  you  have  forwarded.  Your  evident  sincerity 
pleases  me.  His  Majesty  the  late  Emperor  showered 

1  Chinese  chroniclers  aver  that  many  letters  written  to  each  other  by 
the  conspiring  Princes  were  in  the  Portuguese  language,  which  they 
had  learned  from  the  priests  at  Court.  One  of  Yung  Cheng’s  decrees 
refers  to  letters  written  to  Yun  T’ang  by  “  his  secretary,  Maotai  tungpao,” 
and  found  sewed  into  the  socks  of  a  groom-messenger,  which  were 
“  amazingly  like  the  European  characters,”  but  which  none  of  the 
Europeans  then  in  Peking  could  (or  would)  recognise. 

307 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


his  bountiful  protection  on  all  alike;  his  love  knew  no 
limits.  At  his  death  every  one  was  smitten  with  un¬ 
speakable  grief.  On  my  accession  to  the  Great  Inherit¬ 
ance  I  strove  earnestly  to  follow  my  father’s  good 
example  in  all  things.  You,  oh  Prince,  reside  in  a  far 
land;  nevertheless,  you  have  sent  your  special  envoy 
with  a  memorial  expressing  gratitude  for  the  late  Em¬ 
peror’s  benefits  and  with  best  wishes  for  my  own  prosperity. 
Your  language  betokens  a  dutiful  sincerity  and  respect. 
I  highly  applaud  your  devotion  and  have  shown  every 
courtesy  to  your  envoy.  Regarding  the  Europeans 
resident  in  China,  I  fully  recognise  that  all  mankind  are 
members  of  one  family  and  have  frequently  told  them 
that  if  they  behave  themselves  with  becoming  circum¬ 
spection,  practising  a  wise  aloofness  and  virtue,  and 
obeying  the  laws  of  the  land,  I  shall  ever  bestow  upon 
them  my  compassionate  favour.  In  addition  to  con¬ 
ferring  this  decree  upon  yourself,  I  am  forwarding  by  the 
hand  of  your  envoy  sundry  gifts  of  silks  and  rolls  of  satin. 
Do  you,  oh  Prince,  receive  them  reverently  and  appreciate 
my  friendliness  towards  you.” 

And  again,  when  the  Pope  wrote  asking  for  the  release 
of  two  priests  who  had  been  imprisoned  at  Canton  for 
several  years,  His  Majesty  replied,  graciously  enough, 
that,  after  investigation  of  their  cases,  he  found  they 
were  not  too  serious  to  benefit  by  the  general  amnesty 
published  in  honour  of  his  accession  to  the  Throne.  He 
therefore  willingly  acceded  to  the  Pope’s  request,  and 
added  that,  even  if  His  Holiness  had  taken  no  steps  in 
the  matter,  he  would  have  set  the  prisoners  free  “  to 
give  proof  of  his  sense  of  the  common  brotherhood  of 
the  human  race  and  of  his  own  far-reaching  compassion.” 

There  is  no  doubt  that  this  fussy,  terror-ridden  Monarch 
often  meant  well  enough.  One  of  his  favourite  Ministers 
has  left  it  on  record  that  in  his  youth  he  made  for  himself 
two  rules  (which  fittingly  illustrate  the  nature  and  value 

308 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


of  his  “  far-reaching  compassion  ”).  One  was,  always 
to  avoid  stepping  on  the  shadow  of  anybody’s  head, 
since  that  would  bring  misfortune  to  the  substance. 
The  other,  never  to  tread  upon  an  insect. 

According  to  many  Chinese  chroniclers,  Yung  Cheng 
was  murdered  by  the  widow  of  a  Hunanese  named  Lu, 
who  had  been  dismembered  on  a  charge  of  treasonable 
conspiracy.  The  story,  which  finds  no  place  in  the 
dynastic  annals,  goes  to  show  that  this  woman  succeeded 
in  getting  access  to  the  pleasure-garden  at  Yuan-Ming-yuan 
and,  concealing  herself  there,  lay  in  wait  for  the  Emperor 
and  stabbed  him  to  the  heart ;  after  which  she  committed 
suicide. 


309 


CHAPTER  XIII 


HIS  MAJESTY  CH’IEN  LUNG 

Ch’ien  Lung  ascended  the  Dragon  Throne  at  the  age 
of  twenty-five,  in  1736,  and  reigned  over  China  for  sixty 
years,  at  the  end  of  which  cycle  he  abdicated  in  favour  of 
his  son  Chia  Ch’ing.  Judged  by  the  verdict  of  his  con¬ 
temporaries  and  of  posterity  in  his  own  country,  as  well 
as  by  the  evidence  of  European  observers,  he  was  beyond 
question  the  ablest  administrator  and  the  wisest  ruler 
that  China  had  known  for  several  centuries.  By  his  good 
government,  as  well  as  by  his  successful  wars  in  Sungaria, 
Central  Asia,  Burmah  and  Tibet,  he  completely  restored 
the  prestige  of  the  Manchus,  which  his  predecessor  had 
seriously  undermined.  In  his  private  life,  he  appears  to 
have  been  distinguished  by  qualities  of  sincerity,  broad¬ 
mindedness  and  courage  which  alone  suffice  to  raise  him 
far  above  the  level  of  his  predecessors  and  successors. 
He  was  impulsive,  it  is  true ;  intolerant  of  failure  in  those 
upon  whom  he  conferred  high  authority,  especially  in 
military  affairs;  superstitious  and  naturally  ignorant  of 
China’s  relative  place  and  power  amongst  the  nations ; 
but  gifted  nevertheless  with  clear  insight,  sweet  reason¬ 
ableness  and  a  highly  sympathetic  nature.  He  combined 
in  his  person,  to  a  high  degree,  the  best  qualities  of  the 
soldier  and  the  statesman,  but  was  besides  a  scholar,  a 
historian  and  a  poet.  In  his  domestic  life  also  he  was 
successful  in  maintaining  his  parental  authority,  while 
preserving  the  respect  of  his  sons  and  grandsons ;  a 

310 


Portrait  of  His  Majesty  Ch’ien  Lung. 

{By  W.  Alexander ,  painter  attached  to  Lord  Macartney's  Embassy.) 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


polygamous  autocrat  in  his  relations  with  women,  he 
was  neither  uxorious  nor  luxurious.  After  a  reign  of 
unexampled  success,  he  left  the  Empire  stronger  and 
more  prosperous  than  it  had  been  for  several  centuries. 

For  Englishmen,  the  reign  of  this  great  Emperor  is 
particularly  memorable,  in  that  it  witnessed  the  first 
Embassy  from  the  King  of  Great  Britain  to  the  Court 
of  China— that  of  the  Earl  of  Macartney,  in  1795,  under¬ 
taken  with  the  object  of  improving  commercial  relations 
between  the  Chinese  authorities  and  British  merchants 
at  Canton.  Sir  George  Staunton’s  “  authentic  account  ” 
of  that  Embassy  (London  1797)  affords  instructive 
reading  to  this  day,  besides  giving  a  most  interesting 
and  sympathetic  description  of  the  aged  Monarch  and 
his  Court  at  Jehol  and  a  valuable,  because  impartial, 
impression  of  the  personality  of  the  Grand  Secretary 
Ho  Shen,  to  whose  hands,  for  many  years,  was  delegated 
much  of  the  Sovereign’s  power,  and  who  was  destined, 
under  Chia  Ch’ing,  to  meet  the  common  fate  of  Imperial 
favourites. 

At  the  time  of  Lord  Macartney’s  Embassy  the  Emperor 
was  eighty-four  years  of  age,  and  of  his  numerous  sons, 
only  four  were  then  living,  namely  the  eighth,  eleventh, 
fifteenth  and  seventeenth.  (The  eleventh  son,  at  that 
time  Governor  of  Peking,  subsequently  succeeded  to  the 
Throne  under  the  title  of  Chia  Ch’ing).  Some  years 
before,  in  1784,  the  question  of  the  succession  had  been 
raised,  and  His  Majesty  had  been  urged  to  appoint  his 
Heir,  because  several  members  of  the  Imperial  Clan 
were  afraid  of  the  growing  power  and  ambitions  of  Ho 
Shen,  to  whose  son  the  Emperor  had  given  one  of  his 
daughters  in  marriage.  The  Imperial  Clan  were  jealous 
of  the  powerful  favourite,  and  the  orthodox  were  anxious 
to  prevent  a  possible  breach  of  the  laws  of  succession. 
But  Ch’ien  Lung  was  not  the  man  to  accept  advice  on 
such  a  subject;  the  zealous  memorialist  paid  for  his 

311 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


temerity  with  his  head,  the  Emperor  firmly  declining 
to  announce  his  intentions.  In  November  1784,  he  issued 
a  decree  carefully  explaining  his  reasons  for  this  decision, 
a  document  which  reveals  much  of  the  character  of  the 
Sovereign,  and  shows  that  he  had  read,  marked,  learned 
and  inwardly  digested  the  lessons  taught  by  the  domestic 
tribulations  of  his  predecessor.  Incidentally  it  throws 
valuable  light  on  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  Court. 

The  following  is  a  translation  of  this  decree  : 

“  I  have  perused  the  compilation  entitled  History  of 
Official  Ranks ,  prepared  under  my  orders  by  a  Com¬ 
mission  of  Princes  and  Ministers,  and  I  observe,  in  the 
section  :  ‘  Supervisorate  of  Instruction  for  the  Heir 

Apparent  ’  the  following  note  :  ‘  The  staff  of  this  office 
consists  of  officials  ministering  to  the  Heir  Apparent, 
but  our  dynasty  has  promulgated  a  house-law,  which 
is  to  last  for  all  time,  that  no  Emperor  shall  nominate 
an  Heir  Apparent  until  the  close  of  his  reign.  The 
Supervisorate  of  Instruction  is  thus  retained  merely  to 
provide  Academy  doctors  with  stepping-stones  for  pro¬ 
motion.’ 

“  This  note  is  obviously  based  on  my  previous  decree, 
in  which  I  explicitly  stated  the  reasons  against  a  formal 
selection  of  an  Heir  Apparent.  The  Commission  has 
adopted  my  identical  words,  but  has  omitted  to  quote 
their  context.  The  narrow  pedantry  of  a  scholar  natur¬ 
ally  fails  to  appreciate  the  larger  issues  of  State,  so  that 
my  intention  has  been  misconstrued.  But  should  this 
history  be  read  by  later  generations,  it  is  probable  that 
the  Commission  will  be  calumniated  in  the  belief  that 
they  must  have  acted  upon  some  treasonable  motive  in 
drawing  up  such  a  note.  It  therefore  behoves  me  to 
issue  an  explicit  pronouncement  on  the  subject.  Now, 
in  remote  antiquity  we  find  the  Emperor  Yao  transmitting 
the  Throne  to  Shun,  a  precedent  which  was  followed  by 
his  successors.  Unfortunately  times  degenerated,  so  that 

312 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


under  the  Han  dynasty  the  nomination  of  an  Heir 
Apparent  frequently  resulted  in  fratricidal  strife  and 
civil  war.  You  will  recall  that  the  founder  of  the  T’ang 
dynasty  (a.d.  618)  selected  his  eldest  son  as  Heir,  with 
the  result  that  he  was  murdered  by  his  younger  brother, 
Li  Shih-min.  In  the  same  way,  during  the  reign  of  the 
Ming  Emperor  Wan  Li  (circa  1600)  the  Court  begged  him 
to  select  an  Heir,  and  dire  confusion  of  parties  ensued, 
each  official  endeavouring  to  further  his  own  future 
interests  by  securing  the  favour  of  the  probable  successor. 
In  Wan  Li’s  reign,  when  an  attempt  was  made  on  the 
Heir  Apparent’s  life  by  armed  men  who  entered  the 
Forbidden  City,  the  Emperor  received  his  son  in  audience 
and  tearfully  reproached  the  Court  for  supposing  that 
he  had  desired  his  Heir’s  death.  Such  a  scene  between 
father  and  son  is  enough  to  make  one  despair  of  the  State. 

“  These  examples  show  the  evil  results  of  a  formal 
nomination  of  an  Heir  Apparent.  As  regards  my  own 
dynasty,  my  grandfather  K’ang  Hsi  selected  Prince  Li 
as  Heir  Apparent.  He  was  placed  under  the  tutorship 
of  T’ang  Pin,  an  upright  man,  but  his  conduct  degenerated 
so  woefully  after  his  selection  that  even  T’ang  Pin  was 
unable  to  check  and  control  him.  Mean  schemers  and 
sycophants  implanted  seeds  of  discord  in  the  Prince’s 
mind  :  endless  troubles  resulted,  and  my  grandfather’s 
peace  of  mind  was  so  much  disturbed  thereby,  that  he 
finally  cancelled  the  appointment.  But  even  had  Prince 
Li  been  a  model  Heir,  his  early  death  would  only  have 
given  him  two  years  on  the  Throne.  In  due  course  his 
son  Yung  Hsi  would  have  succeeded,  but  he,  too,  was  a 
reprobate  of  the  worst  type  and  was  not  destined  for  a 
long  life.  Within  a  few  years  there  would  thus  have 
been  two  vacancies  to  the  Throne,  a  result  fraught  with 
danger  to  the  destinies  of  our  dynasty  and  to  the  welfare 
of  our  subjects. 

“  My  grandfather  realised  this  and  made  no  further 

313 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


public  nomination  of  an  Heir.  On  his  demise  the  Throne 
passed  to  my  father  Yung  Ch’eng,  and  for  thirteen  years 
that  sage  Emperor  administered  the  Government  and 
gave  peace  to  the  Empire.  In  obedience  to  the  precedent 
established  by  K’ang  Hsi,  he  made  no  public  choice  of 
an  Heir  Apparent,  although  naturally  he  came  to  an 
early  decision  on  the  question  of  the  succession,  which 
affects  the  fortunes  of  our  dynasty.  In  the  first  year 
of  his  reign  he  wrote  my  name  and  placed  it  in  a  sealed 
casket  which  he  secreted  at  the  back  of  the  Imperial 
tablet,  ‘  Grandly  upright  and  gloriously  bright,’  in  the 
main  hall  of  the  Palace.  He  also  wrote  my  name  on  a 
paper  that  he  put  in  a  pouch  which  he  always  wore. 

“  When  my  father  departed  on  his  distant  journey  (in 
1735),  I  reverently  opened  the  casket,  in  the  presence 
of  his  Ministers,  and  we  found  the  mandate  which  ap¬ 
pointed  me  to  the  Throne.  On  our  comparing  the  seal 
impression  on  the  document  with  the  other  half,  which 
had  been  secreted  in  the  Imperial  household,  the  two 
portions  tallied  exactly.  The  Empire  then  gave  me  its 
allegiance,  as  is  well  known  to  all  my  subjects.  Early 
in  my  reign,  in  accordance  with  dynastic  house-law,  I 
selected  my  second  son  as  my  Heir,  both  because  he  was 
born  to  my  Empress  Consort  (and  not  to  a  concubine) 
and  because  of  his  keen  intelligence  and  correct  behaviour. 
In  obedience  to  my  father’s  example  I  wrote  his  name, 
placed  it  in  the  casket,  and  secreted  it  behind  the  tablet 
of  my  Palace  hall.  But  the  fates  were  unkind,  for  he 
soon  left  this  world.  I  then  commanded  my  two  Grand 
Secretaries,  O-erh-t’ai  and  Chang  T’ing-yii,  to  remove 
and  destroy  the  document  in  the  casket,  and  I  bestowed 
on  my  deceased  son  the  posthumous  appellation  of 
‘  Orthodox  and  Discerning.’ 

“  Thus  you  will  see  that  I  duly  nominated  the  child 
of  my  Empress  Consort  to  be  Heir  to  the  Throne,  but 
refrained  from  announcing  my  choice  to  the  world. 

314 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


After  his  death,  my  seventh  son,  Prince  Che,  also  born 
to  the  Empress,  was  very  dear  to  me,  because  of  his 
sincerity  and  strength  of  character,  but  in  a  little  while 
I  had  to  mourn  his  untimely  death.  Thereafter,  of  all 
my  children,  it  was  my  fifth  son,  Prince  Jung,  who  stood 
highest  in  my  affection.  He  was  well  versed  in  Chinese 
literature,  could  speak  both  Manchu  and  Mongol,  and 
was  skilled  in  horsemanship,  archery  and  mathematics. 
I  was  strongly  inclined  to  select  him  as  Heir  Apparent, 
but  never  formally  recorded  his  name.  He  too  is  dead, 
so  that,  if  I  had  adopted  the  narrow  pedantic  view, 
and  following  ancient  custom  publicly  declared  an  Heir, 
we  should  have  seen  three  Heir  Apparents  within  a  space 
of  thirty  years,  a  state  of  affairs  utterly  subversive  of 
dignity  !  In  the  thirty-seventh  year  of  my  reign  (1773) 
I  wrote  out  the  name  of  my  proposed  Heir  and  since 
then  have  always  carried  the  document  on  my  person. 
On  the  occasion  of  the  New  Year  sacrifice  at  the  Temple 
of  Heaven  this  year,  I  bade  all  my  sons  attend  me  during 
the  ceremony,  in  the  course  of  which  I  informed  the 
Almighty  of  my  choice,  and  reverently  prayed,  that  He 
might  be  pleased  to  shed  Divine  grace  upon  my  Heir 
and  to  regard  him  with  benevolent  protection,  so  that  if 
he  found  favour  in  the  Divine  sight  he  might  reach  a 
good  old  age.  But  if  he  whom  I  had  chosen  were  dis¬ 
pleasing  to  the  Almighty,  then  might  He  speedily  visit 
him  with  destruction,  so  that  I  might  select  another 
successor,  and  that  the  dignity  of  our  dynastic  altars 
and  the  fortunes  of  our  State  might  be  duly  protected. 

“  Early  this  year,  I  made  a  pilgrimage  to  the  tomb  of 
the  founder  of  my  dynasty  and  that  of  his  son.  There, 
in  the  presence  of  my  glorious  ancestors,  I  besought  their 
august  protection.  Think  not  that  I  do  not  love  my  son  ! 
But  I  love  even  more  the  interests  of  the  State.  It  will 
be  to  the  eternal  happiness  of  our  Manchu  dynasty  if 
in  this  matter  my  successors  will  follow  my  example. 

315 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


“  I  have  summoned  my  sons  and  the  members  of  the 
Grand  Council  to  audience  this  day  and  have  made  known 
to  them  this,  my  mandate.  It  corresponds  exactly  with 
the  words  which  I  uttered  in  the  presence  of  my  ancestors, 
where  no  falsehood  could  find  a  place.  Day  and  night  I 
toil,  performing  the  heavy  duties  of  the  Government, 
exhausting  myself  in  manifold  directions.  How  then, 
think  you,  that  I  could  possibly  have  failed  to  make  long 
ago  all  necessary  arrangements  in  a  matter  of  such 
importance  as  the  succession  to  the  Throne  ? 

“  Last  autumn,  at  Jehol,  I  was  shooting  duck  by  the 
riverside,  when  my  foot  slipped,  I  fell  into  the  water, 
and  my  clothes  were  wet  through.  Not  only  did  the 
Princes  and  Chamberlains  hasten  to  my  assistance  with 
eager  inquiries  as  to  my  condition,  but  even  the  Chinese 
Grand  Councillors  came  hurrying  to  the  spot.  I  treated 
the  accident  as  of  no  moment,  and  walked  back  with 
them  to  the  Palace,  chatting  and  smiling  all  the  way. 
No  eunuch  ventured  to  stop  them  from  entering  the 
forbidden  precincts.  In  the  same  way,  supposing  that  I 
were  smitten  with  a  sudden  illness,  any  of  you  Ministers 
would  be  at  liberty  to  make  his  way  even  into  my  bed¬ 
chamber,  because  I  have  ever  treated  you  as  members 
of  my  family,  and  held  daily  converse  with  each  of  you. 
In  my  reign,  there  could  be  no  possibility  of  happenings 
such  as  former  dynasties  have  witnessed,  when  a  eunuch 
would  rush  out  from  the  Palace  at  dead  of  night,  bearing 
a  slip  of  paper  in  which  the  demise  of  the  Throne  and 
the  appointment  of  a  successor  were  mysteriously  recorded. 
He  who  fears  such  an  event  to-day  is  like  the  man  of  the 
Ch’i  State  who  feared  that  the  sky  was  going  to  fall  and 
crush  him  ! 

“  In  short,  although  the  formal  selection  and  investiture 
of  an  Heir  Apparent  must  be  definitely  avoided,  my 
reverent  announcement  to  the  Almighty  and  to  my 
ancestors,  in  all  humility  and  sincerity  of  heart,  provides 

316 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


for  all  emergencies.  In  this  matter,  I  have  avoided 
following  the  example  of  past  dynasties,  which  incurred 
disasters  by  their  strict  observance  of  the  letter  of  the 
law.  And  thus  it  comes  to  pass  that  the  staff  of  the 
existing  ‘  Supervisorate  of  Instruction  for  the  Heir 
Apparent 5  is  maintained  in  accordance  with  ancient 
custom,  but  has  no  duties  to  perform,  the  office  being 
retained  as  a  stepping-stone  to  promotion  for  doctors 
of  the  Academy. 

“  I  do  hereby  solemnly  promulgate  this  my  decree,  in 
the  earnest  hope  that  my  descendants  will  faithfully 
observe  it  for  all  time,  because  thereby,  in  my  judgment, 
the  fortunes  of  our  dynasty  will  be  established  for  genera¬ 
tions  to  come.  Lastly,  I  claim  no  infallibility  for  my 
words  :  I  may  be  mistaken,  and  therefore  refrain  from 
expressly  forbidding  my  descendants  to  follow  the  ancient 
practice  which  sanctioned  the  appointment  of  an  Heir 
Apparent.  But  perchance,  if  they  do  follow  it,  and  if, 
as  a  result,  strife  shall  arise  between  father  and  son,  and 
fratricidal  dissensions  culminate  in  dire  disaster  to  our 
dynasty,  then  will  posterity  remember  the  words  I  have 
uttered  to-day.  Let  the  Commission  duly  record  this 
decree  as  a  preface  to  their  History  of  Official  Ranks , 
so  that  my  Imperial  wishes  may  be  made  known  to  the 
whole  Empire  for  time  everlasting.  The  words  of  the 
Emperor  !  ” 

How  different  this  lucid  and  straightforward  utterance 
of  Ch’ien  Lung  from  the  insincere  phrases  and  machine- 
made  platitudes  of  his  predecessor  !  All  the  recorded 
writings  of  Ch’ien  Lung  are  distinguished  by  the  same 
quality  of  intellectual  independence  and  disregard  for 
empty  or  harmful  conventions.  Take,  for  example,  the 
edict  in  which  he  declares  his  intention  of  vacating  the 
Throne  upon  the  completion  of  sixty  years  of  reign, 
issued  in  the  8th  Moon  of  the  59th  year  of  his  reign 
(1795)  : 


317 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


“  I  have  now  reigned  for  fifty-nine  years.  By  the 
favour  of  high  Heaven  and  the  protection  of  my  ancestors, 
peace  prevails  throughout  my  dominions,  and  new  terri¬ 
tories  have  come  to  share  the  blessings  of  China’s  civilisa¬ 
tion.  During  all  these  years,  I  have  striven  to  alleviate 
my  people’s  lot  and  to  show  myself  worthy  of  Heaven’s 
blessings.  Again  and  again  have  I  granted  exemptions 
of  land  tax  in  times  of  flood  and  famine  and  bestowed 
upon  the  sufferers  over  ten  million  taels  from  my  privy 
purse. 

“  Next  year  will  witness  the  sixtieth  anniversary  of 
my  succession  to  this  goodly  heritage  of  the  Throne  : 
few,  indeed,  of  my  predecessors  in  this  and  other  dynasties, 
have  completed  a  sixty-year  cycle.  Those  among  them 
who  have  reigned  over  sixty  years  came  to  the  Throne 
in  early  childhood,  whereas  I  was  twenty-five  years  of 
age  at  my  accession.  To-day  I  am  eighty-four,  and  my 
natural  strength  is  not  abated.  I  rejoice  in  the  possession 
of  perfect  health,  and  my  descendants  to  the  fourth 
generation  surround  me.  Immeasurably  thankful  as  I 
am  to  the  Almighty  for  His  protection,  I  feel  encouraged 
to  yet  further  endeavour.  On  New  Year’s  Day  of  my 
sixtieth  year  an  eclipse  of  the  sun  is  due,  and  on  the 
Festival  of  Lanterns  (1st  Moon,  15th  day)  there  will  be 
a  lunar  eclipse.  Heaven  sends  these  portents  as  warnings, 
but  a  Sovereign’s  duty  is  to  be  guided  by  his  conscience 
and  to  be  aware  of  his  shortcomings  at  all  times,  so  that 
an  eclipse  is  not  needed  to  awaken  him  to  a  sense  of  duty. 
To  find  favour  in  the  sight  of  Heaven  he  must  regulate 
his  conduct.  There  is  no  need  for  empty  catchwords 
and  platitudes  on  the  occasion  of  such  natural  events. 

“  During  the  course  of  next  year,  I  shall  prepare  for 
my  impending  abdication,  and  the  new  Emperor  will 
mount  the  Throne  on  New  Year’s  Day  of  the  year  follow¬ 
ing.  In  recognition  of  the  warning  conveyed  by  these 
eclipses,  I  purpose  to  hold  no  New  Year’s  Court  next  year, 

318 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


and  the  customary  banquet  to  the  Princes  will  be  omitted. 
During  the  period  of  the  eclipses,  I  shall  array  myself  in 
every  day  raiment  and  doff  my  Imperial  robes  of  ceremony. 

“  These  phenomena  can  be  foretold,  as  Mencius  says, 
a  thousand  years  before  they  occur,  but  in  the  present 
case,  the  coincidence  of  two  eclipses  is  a  fresh  indication 
of  the  favour  of  Heaven  towards  me,  for  had  this  pheno¬ 
menon  taken  place  in  the  following  year,  it  would  have 
signified  an  inauspicious  opening  for  my  son’s  reign.  I 
feel  profoundly  grateful  to  Heaven  for  its  favour,  and  in 
return  I  hereby  cancel  all  birthday  celebrations  in  the 
capital  for  next  year,  and  shall  content  myself  with 
receiving  the  congratulations  of  my  Court  at  Jehol.” 

Ch’ien  Lung’s  instinctive  reverence  towards  Heaven 
and  his  ancestors,  the  good  example  of  his  temperate 
and  industrious  life,  all  his  precautions  of  statecraft  and 
military  activities,  were  directed  towards  the  consolida¬ 
tion  of  the  Manchu  power  and  of  a  government  which 
should  confer  prosperity  upon  the  Chinese  people.  Never¬ 
theless,  and  despite  the  sincerity  of  his  good  intentions, 
he  had  established  beside  the  Throne,  in  the  person  of 
his  favourite  Minister,  the  Grand  Secretary  Ho  Shen,  a 
source  of  demoralisation,  an  initiative  of  wickedness  and 
greed  in  high  places,  which  was  destined  (as  we  shall 
show)  to  destroy  the  very  foundations  of  the  State. 
Amongst  Chinese  historians  and  scholars  there  is  a 
common  saying  :  “  A  cycle  of  virtuous  rule  was  brought 
to  nought  by  Ho  Shen  :  the  disastrous  century  of  rebellion 
and  decline  which  followed  was  due  to  him  and  to  him 
alone.” 

We  shall  have  occasion  later  to  relate  the  dramatic 
story  of  this  all-powerful  satrap,  to  whom  (as  Staunton 
says)  the  people  looked  as  to  a  second  Emperor.  For 
the  present,  suffice  it  to  say  that  Ch’ien  Lung’s  personal 
devotion  to  the  highest  ideals  of  government  was  greatly 
prejudiced,  even  during  his  reign,  by  his  blind  belief  in 

319 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


Ho  Slien.  It  was  the  example  of  extravagant  luxury  set 
by  this  great  Vizier,  which  led  to  the  rapid  deterioration 
of  the  Manchu  Court’s  old  simple  style  of  living;  his 
nepotism  and  venality,  displayed  in  the  employment  of 
corrupt  officials,  were  fundamental  factors  in  the  rebellions 
which  broke  out  in  the  reign  of  Chia  Ch’ing.  But  Ch’ien 
Lung’s  devotion  to  his  chief  Minister  knew  no  wavering; 
during  the  last  twenty  years  of  his  reign,  he  allowed  Ho 
Shen  to  exercise  despotic  power  and  to  amass  a  huge 
fortune.  To  his  son,  he  gave  an  Imperial  Princess  for 
wife,  and  to  his  brother,  Ho  Lin,1  he  entrusted  the  com¬ 
mand  of  the  Imperial  forces  and  the  administration 
of  Tibetan  affairs. 

This  Ho  Lin  was  directly  concerned  in  the  affairs  of 
Lord  Macartney’s  Embassy,  for  in  1790  he  was  summoned 
by  the  Emperor  to  return  from  Lhasa  to  Peking,  in  antici¬ 
pation  of  the  British  Envoy’s  probable  intention  of 
discussing  Great  Britain’s  interests  in  India,  affected  by 
China’s  successful  campaign  of  the  previous  year  against 
the  marauding  Ghoorkas  of  Nepal.  The  Emperor’s  edict 
concerning  China’s  suzerainty  over  Tibet  and  the  relations 
of  the  Imperial  Resident  at  Lhasa  with  the  Dalai  Lama, 
is  of  permanent  interest. 

“  We  are  informed,”  he  wrote,  “  by  Cheng  Te,  who  has 
just  arrived  from  Lhasa,  that  Ho  Lin  is  displaying  great 
skill  in  the  management  of  Tibetan  affairs,  and  does  not 
kneel  or  kotow  to  the  Dalai  Lama,  who  obeys  every 
order  that  he  may  give.  We  are  the  more  delighted 
to  hear  that  Ho  Lin  is  thus  conscious  of  the  dignity 
of  the  State,  because  of  late  years  Tibet  has  been  steadily 
sinking  into  depths  of  barbarism  and  its  government 
has  degenerated  into  hopeless  inefficiency.  Now  that  Ho 
Lin  has  set  things  on  a  more  stable  basis,  it  will  be  easier 
to  enforce  our  control  over  the  country,  and  the  real 

1  Whose  attitude  towards  the  British  Envoy  and  his  suite  is  described 
by  Staunton  as  “  formal  and  repulsive.” 

320 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


power  will  be  vested  in  our  hands.  We  are  now  sending 
Sung  Yiin  to  be  our  Resident  at  Lhasa :  he  is  a  Mongol 
and  is  therefore  a  devout  believer  in  the  Buddhism  of 
the  Lamas.  Should  he  fail  to  show  due  regard  for  his 
own  dignity,  the  Dalai  will  surely  put  fresh  obstacles  in 
his  way.  We  therefore  command  that  he  be  instructed 
not  to  perform  any  degrading  ceremony  of  obeisance  to 
the  Dalai  Lama.  If  he  wishes  to  display  his  individual 
respect  to  the  head  of  his  religion,  let  him  wait  until 
his  term  of  office  has  expired  :  then,  before  leaving  Lhasa, 
he  may,  if  he  thinks  fit,  ask  the  Dalai  for  his  blessing.” 

Ho  Lin  returned  to  Peking  and  was  present  at  the 
Emperor’s  reception  of  the  British  Embassy  at  Jehol. 
Staunton  relates  1  that  although  Earl  Macartney  was  at 
pains  to  reassure  the  Grand  Secretary,  Ho  Shen,  that 
Great  Britain  had  no  intention  of  interfering  in  the 
contests  of  the  countries  neighbouring  on  India,  and  that 
the  dissolution  of  the  Great  Mogul’s  Empire  involved  no 
new  dangers  to  China,  nevertheless,  Ho  Lin  accompanied 
Ho  Shen  at  all  his  meetings  with  the  Ambassador,  “  as 
if  fearful  that  any  explanation,  relative  to  the  Tibet  war, 
might  take  place  between  them.”  He  made  no  attempt 
to  conceal  “  the  violent  prepossession  which  he  had 
imbibed  against  the  English,”  both  in  Tibet  and  earlier 
at  Canton.  Doubtless  the  influence  of  this  cantankerous 
individual  was  to  some  extent  reflected  in  the  attitude 
of  certain  members  of  the  Court,  but  Ho  Shen  himself 
took  a  broad  view  of  the  Embassy’s  objects  in  coming 
to  China,  and  remembering  the  friendly  services  rendered 
by  the  British  at  the  end  of  the  Nepalese  campaign, 
was  instrumental  in  persuading  the  Emperor  to  waive 
the  ceremony  of  the  kotow,  upon  which  the  more  con¬ 
servative  officials  and  courtiers  were  disposed  to  insist. 

Ho  Lin’s  influence  and  advice  were  undoubtedly  factors 
in  the  Emperor’s  refusal  to  accede  to  Earl  Macartney’s 
1  Macartney’s  Embassy  to  China,  Vol.  II,  p.  241. 
y  321 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


requests  for  the  establishment  of  a  British  representative 
and  a  trading  centre  at  Peking ;  for  the  extension  of  ship¬ 
ping  facilities,  and  a  regular  Customs  tariff  applicable 
to  British  traders  at  Chusan,  Ningpo  and  Tientsin;  and 
for  the  authorisation  of  missionary  labours  in  China.  It 
was  common  report  at  the  time  that  Ho  Shen  had  advised 
the  Emperor  to  grant  some,  at  least,  of  the  Ambassador’s 
requests,  but  that  the  aged  Sovereign  was  finally  dis¬ 
suaded  from  this  course  by  his  sons,  and  especially  by 
the  opinions  of  him  who  subsequently  became  the  Emperor 
Chia  Ch’ing. 

The  Imperial  “  mandate  ”  to  King  George  III,  issued 
by  His  Majesty  a  few  days  after  his  reception  of  the 
British  Embassy  at  Jehol  makes  strange  reading  to¬ 
day.  How  swift  and  complete  has  been  the  process  of 
the  Great  Celestial  Empire’s  decline  and  humiliation, 
since  its  Sovereign  could  describe  himself  in  all  sincerity, 
as  “  swaying  the  wide  world.”  In  those  days,  only  a 
brief  century  ago,  China’s  ignorance  of  the  outer  world 
was  bliss  indeed. 

The  following  is  the  text  of  this  historic  document  : 

“  You,  O  King,  live  beyond  the  confines  of  many  seas, 
nevertheless,  impelled  by  your  humble  desire  to  partake 
of  the  benefits  of  our  civilisation,  you  have  dispatched  a 
mission  respectfully  bearing  your  memorial.  Your  Envoy 
has  crossed  the  seas  and  paid  his  respects  at  my  Court 
on  the  anniversary  of  my  birthday.  To  show  your 
devotion,  you  have  also  sent  offerings  of  your  country’s 
produce. 

“  I  have  perused  your  memorial :  the  earnest  terms  in 
which  it  is  couched  reveal  a  respectful  humility  on  your 
part,  which  is  highly  praiseworthy.  In  consideration  of 
the  fact  that  your  Ambassador  and  his  deputy  have 
come  a  long  way  with  your  memorial  and  tribute,  I  have 
shown  them  high  favour  and  have  allowed  them  to  be 
introduced  into  my  presence.  To  manifest  my  indulgence, 

322 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


I  have  entertained  them  at  a  banquet  and  made  them 
numerous  gifts.  I  have  also  caused  presents  to  be  for¬ 
warded  to  the  Naval  Commander  and  six  hundred  of  his 
officers  and  men,  although  they  did  not  come  to  Peking, 
so  that  they  too  may  share  in  my  all-embracing  kindness. 

“  As  to  your  entreaty  to  send  one  of  your  nationals  to  be 
accredited  to  my  Celestial  Court  and  to  be  in  control  of 
your  country’s  trade  with  China,  this  request  is  contrary 
to  all  usage  of  my  dynasty  and  cannot  possibly  be  enter¬ 
tained.  It  is  true  that  Europeans,  in  the  service  of  the 
dynasty,  have  been  permitted  to  live  at  Peking,  but  they 
are  compelled  to  adopt  Chinese  dress,  they  are  strictly 
confined  to  their  own  precincts  and  are  never  permitted 
to  return  home.  You  are  presumably  familiar  with  our 
dynastic  regulations.  Your  proposed  Envoy  to  my  Court 
could  not  be  placed  in  a  position  similar  to  that  of  Euro¬ 
pean  officials  in  Peking  who  are  forbidden  to  leave  China, 
nor  could  he,  on  the  other  hand,  be  allowed  liberty  of 
movement  and  the  privilege  of  corresponding  with  his 
own  country;  so  that  you  would  gain  nothing  by  his 
residence  in  our  midst. 

“  Moreover,  our  Celestial  dynasty  possesses  vast  terri¬ 
tories,  and  tribute  missions  from  the  dependencies  are 
provided  for  by  the  Department  for  Tributary  States, 
which  ministers  to  their  wants  and  exercises  strict  control 
over  their  movements.  It  would  be  quite  impossible  to 
leave  them  to  their  own  devices.  Supposing  that  your 
Envoy  should  come  to  our  Court,  his  language  and 
national  dress  differ  from  that  of  our  people,  and  there 
would  be  no  place  in  which  to  bestow  him.  It  may 
be  suggested  that  he  might  imitate  the  Europeans  per¬ 
manently  resident  in  Peking  and  adopt  the  dress  and 
customs  of  China,  but,  it  has  never  been  our  dynasty’s 
wish  to  force  people  to  do  things  unseemly  and  incon¬ 
venient.  Besides,  supposing  I  sent  an  Ambassador  to 
reside  in  your  country,  how  could  you  possibly  make 

323 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


for  him  the  requisite  arrangements  ?  Europe  consists 
of  many  other  nations  besides  your  own  :  if  each  and  all 
demanded  to  be  represented  at  our  Court,  how  could  we 
possibly  consent?  The  thing  is  utterly  impracticable. 
How  can  our  dynasty  alter  its  whole  procedure  and  system 
of  etiquette,  established  for  more  than  a  century,  in 
order  to  meet  your  individual  views  ?  If  it  be  said  that 
your  object  is  to  exercise  control  over  your  country’s 
trade,  your  nationals  have  had  full  liberty  to  trade  at 
Canton  for  many  a  year,  and  have  received  the  greatest 
consideration  at  our  hands.  Missions  have  been  sent  by 
Portugal  and  Italy,  preferring  similar  requests.  The 
Throne  appreciated  their  sincerity  and  loaded  them  with 
favours,  besides  authorising  measures  to  facilitate  their 
trade  with  China.  You  are  no  doubt  aware  that,  when 
my  Canton  merchant,  Wu  Chao-ping,  was  in  debt  to  the 
foreign  ships,  I  made  the  Viceroy  advance  the  monies 
due,  out  of  the  provincial  treasury,  and  ordered  him  to 
punish  the  culprit  severely.  Why  then  should  foreign 
nations  advance  this  utterly  unreasonable  request  to  be 
represented  at  my  Court  ?  Peking  is  nearly  two  thousand 
miles  from  Canton,  and  at  such  a  distance  what  possible 
control  could  any  British  representative  exercise  ? 

“  If  you  assert  that  your  reverence  for  Our  Celestial 
dynasty  fills  you  with  a  desire  to  acquire  our  civilisation, 
our  ceremonies  and  code  of  laws  differ  so  completely 
from  your  own  that,  even  if  your  Envoy  were  able  to 
acquire  the  rudiments  of  our  civilisation,  you  could  not 
possibly  transplant  our  manners  and  customs  to  your 
alien  soil.  Therefore,  however  adept  the  Envoy  might 
become,  nothing  would  be  gained  thereby. 

“  Swaying  the  wide  world,  I  have  but  one  aim  in 
view,  namely,  to  maintain  a  perfect  governance  and  to 
fulfil  the  duties  of  the  State  :  strange  and  costly  objects 
do  not  interest  me.  If  I  have  commanded  that  the  tribute 
offerings  sent  by  you,  O  King,  are  to  be  accepted, 

324 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


this  was  solely  in  consideration  for  the  spirit  which 
prompted  you  to  dispatch  them  from  afar.  Our  dynasty’s 
majestic  virtue  has  penetrated  unto  every  country  under 
Heaven,  and  Kings  of  all  nations  have  offered  their  costly 
tribute  by  land  and  sea.  As  your  Ambassador  can  see 
for  himself,  we  possess  all  things.  I  set  no  value  on  objects 
strange  or  ingenious,  and  have  no  use  for  your  country’s 
manufactures.  This  then  is  my  answer  to  your  request 
to  appoint  a  representative  at  my  Court,  a  request  con¬ 
trary  to  our  dynastic  usage,  which  would  only  result  in 
inconvenience  to  yourself.  I  have  expounded  my  wishes 
in  detail  and  have  commanded  your  tribute  Envoys  to 
leave  in  peace  on  their  homeward  journey.  It  behoves 
you,  O  King,  to  respect  my  sentiments  and  to  display 
even  greater  devotion  and  loyalty  in  future,  so  that,  by 
perpetual  submission  to  our  Throne,  you  may  secure 
peace  and  prosperity  for  your  country  hereafter.  Besides 
making  gifts  (of  which  I  enclose  an  inventory)  to  each 
member  of  your  Mission,  I  confer  upon  you,  O  King, 
valuable  presents  in  excess  of  the  number  usually  be¬ 
stowed  on  such  occasions,  including  silks  and  curios — 
a  list  of  which  is  likewise  enclosed.  Do  you  reverently 
receive  them  and  take  note  of  my  tender  goodwill  towards 
you  !  A  special  mandate.” 

A  further  mandate  to  King  George  III  dealt  in  detail 
with  the  British  Ambassador’s  proposals  and  the  Emperor’s 
reasons  for  declining  them  :  “  You,  O  King,  from  afar 
have  yearned  after  the  blessings  of  our  civilisation,  and 
in  your  eagerness  to  come  into  touch  with  our  converting- 
influence  have  sent  an  Embassy  across  the  sea  bearing  a 
memorial.  I  have  already  taken  note  of  your  respectful 
spirit  of  submission,  have  treated  your  mission  with 
extreme  favour  and  loaded  it  with  gifts,  besides  issuing 
a  mandate  to  you,  O  King,  and  honouring  you  with  the 
bestowal  of  valuable  presents.  Thus  has  my  indulgence 
been  manifested. 


325 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


“  Yesterday  your  Ambassador  petitioned  my  Ministers 
to  memorialise  me  regarding  your  trade  with  China, 
but  his  proposal  is  not  consistent  with  our  dynastic 
usage  and  cannot  be  entertained.  Hitherto,  all  European 
nations,  including  your  own  country’s  barbarian  mer¬ 
chants,  have  carried  on  their  trade  with  our  Celestial 
Empire  at  Canton.  Such  has  been  the  procedure  for 
many  years,  although  our  Celestial  Empire  possesses  all 
things  in  prolific  abundance  and  lacks  no  product  within 
its  own  borders.  There  was  therefore  no  need  to  import 
the  manufactures  of  outside  barbarians  in  exchange  for 
our  own  produce.  But  as  the  tea,  silk  and  porcelain 
which  the  Celestial  Empire  produces,  are  absolute  neces¬ 
sities  to  European  nations  and  to  yourselves,  we  have 
permitted,  as  a  signal  mark  of  favour,  that  foreign  hongs 
should  be  established  at  Canton,  so  that  your  wants 
might  be  supplied  and  your  country  thus  participate  in 
our  beneficence.  But  your  Ambassador  has  now  put 
forward  new  requests  which  completely  fail  to  recognise 
the  Throne’s  principle  to  ‘  treat  strangers  from  afar  with 
indulgence,’  and  to  exercise  a  pacifying  control  over 
barbarian  tribes,  the  world  over.  Moreover,  our  dynasty, 
swaying  the  myriad  races  of  the  globe,  extends  the  same 
benevolence  towards  all.  Your  England  is  not  the  only 
nation  trading  at  Canton.  If  other  nations,  following 
your  bad  example,  wrongfully  importune  my  ear  with 
further  impossible  requests,  how  will  it  be  possible  for 
me  to  treat  them  with  easy  indulgence  ?  Nevertheless, 
I  do  not  forget  the  lonely  remoteness  of  your  island,  cut 
off  from  the  world  by  intervening  wastes  of  sea,1  nor  do 
I  overlook  your  excusable  ignorance  of  the  usages  of  our 
Celestial  Empire.  I  have  consequently  commanded  my 
Ministers  to  enlighten  your  Ambassador  on  the  subject, 
and  have  ordered  the  departure  of  the  mission.  But  I 
have  doubts  that,  after  your  Envoy’s  return  he  may  fail 
3  Cf.  “  Toto  divisos  orbc  Britannos.” 

326 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


to  acquaint  you  with  my  view  in  detail  or  that  he  may 
be  lacking  in  lucidity,  so  that  I  shall  now  proceed  to  take 
your  requests  seriatim  and  to  issue  my  mandate  on  each 
question  separately.  In  this  way  you  will,  I  trust, 
comprehend  my  meaning. 

“  (1)  Your  Ambassador  requests  facilities  for  ships  of 
your  nation  to  call  at  Ningpo,  Chusan,  Tientsin  and  other 
places  for  purposes  of  trade.  Until  now  trade  with 
European  nations  has  always  been  conducted  at  Aomen, 
where  the  foreign  hongs  are  established  to  store  and  sell 
foreign  merchandise.  Your  nation  has  obediently  com¬ 
plied  with  this  regulation  for  years  past  without  raising 
any  objection.  In  none  of  the  other  ports  named  have 
hongs  been  established,  so  that  even  if  your  vessels  were 
to  proceed  thither,  they  would  have  no  means  of  disposing 
of  their  cargoes.  Furthermore,  no  interpreters  are  avail¬ 
able,  so  you  would  have  no  means  of  explaining  your 
wants,  and  nothing  but  general  inconvenience  would 
result.  For  the  future,  as  in  the  past,  I  decree  that  your 
request  is  refused  and  that  the  trade  shall  be  limited  to 
Aomen. 

“  (2)  The  request  that  your  merchants  may  establish 
a  repository  in  the  capital  of  my  Empire  for  the  storing 
and  sale  of  your  produce,  in  accordance  with  the  precedent 
granted  to  Russia,  is  even  more  impracticable  than  the 
last.  My  capital  is  the  hub  and  centre  about  which  all 
quarters  of  the  globe  revolve.  Its  ordinances  are  most 
august  and  its  laws  are  strict  in  the  extreme.  The  sub¬ 
jects  of  our  dependencies  have  never  been  allowed  to 
open  places  of  business  in  Peking.  Foreign  trade  has 
hitherto  been  conducted  at  Aomen,  because  it  is  con¬ 
veniently  near  to  the  sea,  and  therefore  an  important 
gathering  place  for  the  ships  of  all  nations  sailing  to  and 
fro.  If  warehouses  were  established  in  Peking,  the 
remoteness  of  your  country,  lying  far  to  the  north-west 
of  my  capital,  would  render  transport  extremely  difficult. 

327 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


Before  Kiakhta  was  opened,  the  Russians  were  permitted 
to  trade  at  Peking,  but  the  accommodation  furnished  to 
them  was  only  temporary.  As  soon  as  Kiakhta  was 
available,  they  were  compelled  to  withdraw  from  Peking, 
which  has  been  closed  to  their  trade  these  many  years. 
Their  frontier  trade  at  Kiakhta  is  on  all  fours  with  your 
trade  at  Aomen.  Possessing  facilities  at  the  latter  place, 
you  now  ask  for  further  privileges  at  Peking,  although 
our  dynasty  observes  the  severest  restrictions  respecting 
the  admission  of  foreigners  within  its  boundaries,  and 
has  never  permitted  the  subjects  of  dependencies  to  cross 
the  Empire’s  barriers  and  settle  at  will  amongst  the 
Chinese  people.  This  request  is  also  refused. 

“  (3)  Your  request  for  a  small  island  near  Chusan,  where 
your  merchants  may  reside  and  goods  be  warehoused, 
arises  from  your  desire  to  develop  trade.  As  there  are 
neither  foreign  hongs  nor  interpreters  in  or  near  Chusan, 
where  none  of  your  ships  have  ever  called,  such  an  island 
would  be  utterly  useless  for  your  purposes.  Every  inch 
of  the  territory  of  our  Empire  is  marked  on  the  map  and 
the  strictest  vigilance  is  exercised  over  it  all  :  even  tiny 
islets  and  far-lying  sand-banks  are  clearly  defined  as  part 
of  the  provinces  to  which  they  belong.  Consider,  moreover, 
that  England  is  not  the  only  barbarian  land  which  wishes 
to  establish  relations  with  our  civilisation  and  trade  with 
our  Empire  :  supposing  that  other  nations  were  all  to 
imitate  your  evil  example  and  beseech  me  to  present 
them  each  and  all  with  a  site  for  trading  purposes,  how 
could  I  possibly  comply  ?  This  also  is  a  flagrant  infringe¬ 
ment  of  the  usage  of  my  Empire  and  cannot  possibly  be 
entertained. 

“  (4)  The  next  request,  for  a  small  site  in  the  vicinity 
of  Canton  city,  where  your  barbarian  merchants  may  lodge 
or,  alternatively,  that  there  be  no  longer  any  restrictions 
over  their  movements  at  Aomen,  has  arisen  from  the 
following  causes.  Hitherto,  the  barbarian  merchants  of 

328 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


Europe  have  had  a  definite  locality  assigned  to  them  at 
Aomen  for  residence  and  trade,  and  have  been  forbidden 
to  encroach  an  inch  beyond  the  limits  assigned  to  that 
locality.  Barbarian  merchants  having  business  with  the 
liongs  have  never  been  allowed  to  enter  the  city  of  Canton ; 
by  these  measures,  disputes  between  Chinese  and  barbarians 
are  prevented,  and  a  firm  barrier  is  raised  between  my 
subjects  and  those  of  other  nations.  The  present  request 
is  quite  contrary  to  precedent;  furthermore,  European 
nations  have  been  trading  with  Canton  for  a  number  of 
years  and,  as  they  make  large  profits,  the  number  of  traders 
is  constantly  increasing.  How  would  it  be  possible  to 
grant  such  a  site  to  each  country  ?  The  merchants  of 
the  foreign  hongs  are  responsible  to  the  local  officials  for 
the  proceedings  of  barbarian  merchants  and  they  carry 
out  periodical  inspections.  If  these  restrictions  were 
withdrawn,  friction  would  inevitably  occur  between  the 
Chinese  and  your  barbarian  subjects,  and  the  results  would 
militate  against  the  benevolent  regard  that  I  feel  towards 
you.  From  every  point  of  view,  therefore,  it  is  best  that 
the  regulations  now  in  force  should  continue  unchanged. 

“  (5)  Regarding  your  request  for  remission  or  reduction 
of  duties  on  merchandise  discharged  by  your  British  bar¬ 
barian  merchants  at  Aomen  and  distributed  throughout 
the  interior,  there  is  a  regular  tariff  in  force  for  barbarian 
merchants’  goods,  which  applies  equally  to  all  European 
nations.  It  would  be  as  wrong  to  increase  the  duty  im¬ 
posed  on  your  nation’s  merchandise  on  the  ground  that  the 
bulk  of  foreign  trade  is  in  your  hands,  as  to  make  an 
exception  in  your  case  in  the  shape  of  specially  reduced 
duties.  In  future,  duties  shall  be  levied  equitably  without 
discrimination  between  your  nation  and  any  other,  and, 
in  order  to  manifest  my  regard,  your  barbarian  merchants 
shall  continue  to  be  shown  every  consideration  at  Aomen. 

“  (6)  As  to  your  request  that  your  ships  shall  pay  the 
duties  leviable  by  tariff,  there  are  regular  rules  in  force  at 

329 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


the  Canton  Custom  house  respecting  the  amounts  payable, 
and  since  I  have  refused  your  request  to  be  allowed  to 
trade  at  other  ports,  this  duty  will  naturally  continue 
to  be  paid  at  Canton  as  heretofore. 

“  (7)  Regarding  your  nation’s  worship  of  the  Lord  of 
Heaven,  it  is  the  same  religion  as  that  of  other  Euro¬ 
pean  nations.  Ever  since  the  beginning  of  history,  sage 
Emperors  and  wise  rulers  have  bestowed  on  China  a  moral 
system  and  inculcated  a  code,  which  from  time  immemorial 
has  been  religiously  observed  by  the  myriads  of  my 
subjects.  There  has  been  no  hankering  after  heterodox 
doctrines.  Even  the  European  (missionary)  officials  in 
my  capital  are  forbidden  to  hold  intercourse  with  Chinese 
subjects;  they  are  restricted  within  the  limits  of  their 
appointed  residences,  and  may  not  go  about  propagating 
their  religion.  The  distinction  between  Chinese  and 
barbarian  is  most  strict,  and  your  Ambassador’s  request 
that  barbarians  shall  be  given  full  liberty  to  disseminate 
their  religion  is  utterly  unreasonable. 

“  It  may  be,  O  King,  that  the  above  proposals  have 
been  wantonly  made  by  your  Ambassador  on  his  own 
responsibility,  or  peradventure  you  yourself  are  ignorant 
of  our  dynastic  regulations  and  had  no  intention  of  trans¬ 
gressing  them  when  you  expressed  these  wild  ideas  and 
hopes.  I  have  ever  shown  the  greatest  condescension 
to  the  tribute  missions  of  all  States  which  sincerely  yearn 
after  the  blessings  of  civilisation,  so  as  to  manifest  my 
kindly  indulgence.  I  have  even  gone  out  of  my  way  to 
grant  any  requests  which  were  in  any  way  consistent 
with  Chinese  usage.  Above  all,  upon  you,  who  live  in  a 
remote  and  inaccessible  region,  far  across  the  spaces  of 
ocean,  but  who  have  shown  your  submissive  loyalty  by 
sending  this  tribute  mission,  I  have  heaped  benefits  far 
in  excess  of  those  accorded  to  other  nations.  But  the 
demands  presented  by  your  Embassy  are  not  only  a 
contravention  of  dynastic  tradition,  but  would  be  utterly 

330 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


unproductive  of  good  result  to  yourself,  besides  being  quite 
impracticable.  I  have  accordingly  stated  the  facts  to 
you  in  detail,  and  it  is  your  bounden  duty  reverently  to 
appreciate  my  feelings  and  to  obey  these  instructions 
henceforward  for  all  time,  so  that  you  may  enjoy  the 
blessings  of  perpetual  peace.  If,  after  the  receipt  of  this 
explicit  decree,  you  lightly  give  ear  to  the  representations 
of  your  subordinates  and  allow  your  barbarian  merchants 
to  proceed  to  Chekiang  and  Tientsin,  with  the  object  of 
landing  and  trading  there,  the  ordinances  of  my  Celestial 
Empire  are  strict  in  the  extreme,  and  the  local  officials, 
both  civil  and  military,  are  bound  reverently  to  obey  the 
law  of  the  land.  Should  your  vessels  touch  the  shore,  your 
merchants  will  assuredly  never  be  permitted  to  land  or 
to  reside  there,  but  will  be  subject  to  instant  expulsion. 
In  that  event  your  barbarian  merchants  will  have  had  a 
long  journey  for  nothing.  Do  not  say  that  you  were  not 
warned  in  due  time  !  Tremblingly  obey  and  show  no 
negligence  !  A  special  mandate  !  ” 

As  is  well  known,  the  ceremony  of  the  kotow  was 
waived  by  Ch’ien  Lung  in  deference  to  Earl  Macartney’s 
objections,  but  the  Manchus  subsequently  declared,  and 
to  this  day  affect  to  believe,  that,  when  the  Ambassador 
entered  His  Majesty’s  presence,  he  was  so  overcome  with 
awe  and  nervousness,  that  his  legs  gave  way  under  him, 
so  that  he  grovelled  abjectly  on  the  ground,  thus  to  all 
intents  and  purposes  performing  an  involuntary  kotow. 

Finally,  two  days  before  his  abdication,  in  1796,  the 
Emperor  addressed  the  following  letter  to  King  George 
III : 

“  Chu  Kuei  (Viceroy  of  Canton)  memorialises  Us  that 
the  King  of  England  has  forwarded  a  memorial  with 
tribute.  Two  years  ago,  on  the  occasion  of  the  tribute 
mission  from  the  King  coming  to  Peking,  We  conferred 
upon  him  many  valuable  presents,  so  he  has  now  dispatched 
a  further  memorial  with  offerings  of  tribute,  thus  indicat- 

331 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


ing  his  loyal  sincerity.  We  raise  absolutely  no  objection 
to  the  fact  of  his  having  omitted  to  send  a  mission  on 
this  occasion,  and  are  graciously  pleased  to  accept  his 
offerings.  In  addition,  We  bestow  upon  him  the  following 
mandate  :  Your  nation  is  inaccessible,  lying  far  beyond 
the  dividing  seas,  but  you  sent  a  mission  with  a  memorial 
and  tribute  to  pay  homage  at  our  Court,  and  We,  in  recog¬ 
nition  of  your  loyal  sincerity,  conferred  upon  you  our 
mandate  and  valuable  gifts,  as  evidence  of  our  satisfaction. 
Now,  O  King,  you  have  again  prepared  a  memorial  and 
offerings,  which  have  been  conveyed  by  your  barbarian 
vessels  to  Canton  and  transmitted  to  Us.  Your  reverent 
submission  to  Our  person  is  manifest.  Our  Celestial 
dynasty,  which  sways  the  wide  world,  attaches  no  value 
to  the  costly  presents  which  are  offered  at  Our  Court : 
what  We  appreciate  is  the  humble  spirit  of  the  offerers. 
We  have  commanded  Our  Viceroy  to  accept  your  tribute 
in  order  that  your  reverence  may  be  duly  recognised. 

“  As  regarding  Our  sending  of  a  punitive  expedition 
to  Nepal,  Our  Commander-in-chief  marched  at  the  head 
of  a  great  army  into  that  country,  occupied  the  chief 
strategic  points,  and  terrified  the  Ghoorkas  into  grovel¬ 
ling  submission  to  Our  majestic  Empire.  Our  Com¬ 
mander-in-chief  duly  memorialised  Us,  and  We,  whose 
Imperial  clemency  is  world-wide,  embracing  Chinese  and 
foreigners  alike,  could  not  endure  the  thought  of  exter¬ 
minating  the  entire  population  of  the  country.  Accord¬ 
ingly  We  accepted  their  surrender.  At  that  time  Our 
Commander-in-chief  duly  informed  Us  of  your  having 
dispatched  a  mission  into  Tibet,  with  a  petition  to  Our 
Resident,  stating  that  you  had  advised  the  Nepalese  to 
surrender.  But  at  the  time  of  your  petition  Our  troops 
had  already  gained  a  complete  victory  and  the  desired 
end  had  been  attained.1  We  were  not  obliged  to  trouble 

1  The  Chinese  expedition  against  Nepal  was  commanded  by  Fu 
K’ang-an,  Ch’ien  Lung’s  ablest  General.  It  started  from  Kokonor  in 

332 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKINCx 


your  troops  to  render  assistance.  You  allude  to  this 
matter  in  your  present  memorial,  but  are  doubtless  ignorant 
of  the  precise  course  of  events  in  Nepal,  as  your  tribute 
mission  was  on  its  way  to  Peking  at  the  time  of  these 
occurrences.  Nevertheless,  O  King,  you  entertained  a 
clear  perception  of  your  duty  towards  Us,  and  your  reverent 
acknowledgment  of  Our  dynasty’s  supremacy  is  highly 
praiseworthy. 

“We  therefore  now  bestow  upon  you  various  costly 
gifts.  Do  you,  O  King,  display  even  more  energetic 
loyalty  in  future  and  endeavour  to  deserve  for  ever  Our 


the  2nd  Moon  of  the  Emperor’s  57th  year  (1793),  and  entered  Tibet 
via  the  Tant-la  Pass  (cf.  Abbe  Hue’s  Travels  in  Tibet),  where  a  fierce 
wind  usually  blows,  but  Fu  K’ang-an  reported  that  on  the  occasion 
of  his  troops  crossing  the  pass  the  weather  wras  bright  and  there  was 
no  wind.  In  gratitude  to  the  spirit  of  this  mountain  for  having  vouch¬ 
safed  such  good  weather  to  the  expedition,  Ch’ien  Lung  ordered  that 
the  Tant-la  should  be  included  amongst  the  mountains  of  the  Empire 
which  are  entitled  to  receive  an  Imperial  sacrifice. 

In  July  of  that  year  the  Chinese  forces  marched  into  Nepal,  invading 
it  from  three  sides.  The  Ghoorkas  sent  a  mission  to  seek  aid  from  Great 
Britain,  whereupon  Cornwallis  dispatched  an  officer  to  Khatmandu 
to  act  as  peacemaker.  But  by  the  7th  Moon  the  Imperial  troops 
had  defeated  Nepal  in  six  battles,  and  when  they  were  only  one  day’s 
march  from  Khatmandu  the  Nepalese  tendered  an  abject  submission. 
The  Chinese  did  not  linger  in  Nepal,  the  season  being  far  advanced, 
but  returned  to  Tibet  in  the  8th  Moon,  after  exacting  an  undertaking 
to  bring  tribute  to  Peking  once  in  every  five  years  in  the  form  of  tame 
elephants,  horses  and  musical  instruments.  The  Nepalese  had  invaded 
Tibet  at  the  request  of  the  Red  Priesthood  two  years  previously  (1791) 
ostensibly  on  the  ground  that  the  duties  imposed  on  salt  at  the  Nepalese 
frontier  were  excessive,  and  that  the  commodity  was  adulterated  with 
earth.  On  this  occasion  the  Commander  of  the  Chinese  forces,  Pa 
Chung,  had  declined  battle,  and  had  induced  the  Tibetans  to  promise 
the  Nepalese  an  annual  subsidy  of  15,000  ounces  of  silver  if  they  would 
withdraw.  At  the  same  time  he  reported  to  the  Throne  that  he  had 
defeated  the  Nepalese  and  that  they  had  accepted  Manchu  suzerainty. 
In  the  following  year,  1792,  the  promised  subsidy  of  15,000  taels  not 
being  forthcoming,  the  Nepalese  again  invaded  Tibet.  Pao  Tai,  the 
Resident  at  Lhasa,  made  no  preparations  to  resist  them,  but  conveyed 
the  Panshen  Lama  to  Lhasa,  abandoning  Hou  Tsang  to  the  invaders, 
who  sacked  the  sacred  city  of  Tashilhunpo  and  conveyed  its  treasures 
back  to  Nepal,  at  the  same  time  leaving  a  strong  force  inside  the 
Tibetan  frontier. 


333 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


gracious  affection,  so  that  we  may  conform  to  Our  earnest 
resolve  to  pacify  distant  tribes  and  to  manifest  Our  Imperial 
clemency. 

“  Chu  Kuei  is  to  hand  this  mandate  to  your  Agent,  for 
transmission  to  yourself,  in  order  that  you  may  be  encour¬ 
aged  to  display  still  greater  gratitude  and  reverent  sub¬ 
mission  hereafter,  in  acknowledgment  of  Our  indulgence. 

“It  is  contrary  to  Our  dynastic  ordinances  for  Our 
officials  to  enter  into  social  relations  with  barbarians, 
and  Chu  Kuei  acted  therefore  quite  properly  in  returning 
the  presents  which  were  sent  to  the  former  Viceroy  and 
Superintendent  of  Customs  at  Canton.” 

In  his  private  life,  and  in  the  administration  of  his 
household,  Ch’ien  Lung  combined  a  high  sense  of  his 
Imperial  dignity  with  frugal  habits.  Throughout  his  long 
life  he  retained  his  devotion  to  the  chase,  for  the  wilds  of 
Manchuria  and  Mongolia,  for  the  simple,  open-air  life 
which  had  made  his  forefathers  the  hardy  men  they  were. 
It  would  be  interesting  to  study  the  coincidence  of  the 
decay  of  the  Imperial  hunting  parks,  the  decline  of  manly 
exercises  amongst  the  Manchu  aristocracy,  with  the  gradual 
ascendancy  of  the  eunuchs  that  begins  definitely  to  assert 
itself  in  the  reign  of  Ch’ien  Lung’s  successor. 

As  the  head  of  his  family  and  of  the  Palace  household, 
Ch’ien  Lung  exercised  a  very  strict  supervision  over  his 
domestic  affairs  until  old  age  and  the  increasing  cares  of 
State  combined  to  relax  his  energies  in  this  direction. 
In  private  as  in  public  life,  the  secret  of  his  success  lay  in 
personal  attention  to  detail,  indefatigable  energy,  a  broad 
mind,  and  a  personality  in  which  a  strong  sense  of  order 
and  discipline  combined  with  many  sympathetic  qualities. 
Ch’ien  Lung  was  essentially  a  statesman ;  but  he  was  also 
a  good  sportsman,  with  a  touch  of  the  poetic  temperament. 
As  the  traveller  gazes  to-day  on  the  melancholy  ruins  of 
Yuan  Ming-yiian,  or  the  hunting  parks  at  Jehol  and 
Peking,  he  cannot  but  wonder  that  a  race  which  could 

334 


Lord  Macartney  s  Embassy  at  a  Haul-over  on  the  Tungchou  Canal. 

(From  a  painting  by  IV.  Alexander,  in  the  British  Museum.) 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


produce  so  wise  and  so  virile  a  ruler,  and  send  its  armies 
half  across  Asia,  should  to-day  be  represented  only  by  the 
besotted  and  effeminate  creatures  who  walk  so  delicately 
and  so  uselessly  as  Manchu  Princes. 

Ch’ien  Lung  hated  extravagance,  and  until  the  close  of 
his  reign,  when  the  contagion  of  Ho  Shen’s  purple  and  fine 
linen  had  begun  to  breed  luxury  in  the  Imperial  house¬ 
hold,  he  set  the  example  of  thrift  and  simple  fare.  At 
the  same  time,  there  was  nothing  of  the  Puritan  about 
him,  nor  of  the  total  abstainer;  he  loved  a  pretty  woman 
and  a  good  dinner,  but  held  the  Oriental  faith,  that  both 
were  gifts  of  the  gods,  not  to  be  easily  won,  nor  lightly 
esteemed.  Throughout  his  sixty  years’  reign  he  never 
once  omitted  the  custom  of  offering  sacrifice  of  propitiation 
to  the  kitchen  god,  who  on  the  23rd  day  of  the  10th  Moon 
proceeds  heavenwards,  to  make  his  annual  report  on  the 
family’s  behaviour  during  the  year.  The  Palace  in  which 
the  sacrifice  used  to  be  performed  is  the  K’un  Ning-kang 
(“  Earthly  Repose  ”),  and  the  ceremony  took  place  on  a 
brick  platform  or  k’ang,  in  the  centre  of  the  hall.  Drums 
were  placed  in  readiness,  and  it  was  the  custom  for  the 
Empress  first  to  proceed  thither  and  await  the  Emperor’s 
arrival.  He  himself  then  beat  the  drum  and  sang  the  ditty 
known  as  :  “  The  Emperor’s  search  for  worthy  officials.” 
The  household  were  drawn  up  in  lines,  and  on  the  con¬ 
clusion  of  the  song,  crackers  were  fired  to  start  the  kitchen 
god  on  his  mission.  The  custom  was  discontinued  by  Chia 
Ch’ing. 

Ch’ien  Lung  was  no  ascetic  kill- joy.  To  the  east  of  the 
Lake  of  Happiness,  at  the  Summer  Palace  of  Yuan  Ming- 
yuan,  in  a  garden  called  the  “  Park  of  Universal  Joy,” 
he  was  fond  of  giving  theatrical  entertainments  to  his 
Court.  At  the  New  Year  he  used  to  have  booths  erected 
along  the  main  road  of  the  garden  and  there  organised  a 
market  fair  for  the  amusement  of  the  Court.  There  were 
curio  and  porcelain  stores,  embroidery  shops,  dealers  in 

335 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


silks,  as  well  as  restaurants,  wine-taverns  and  tea-houses. 
Even  pedlars  and  hawkers  were  allowed  to  come  and  ply 
their  trade.  The  shops  were  managed  by  eunuchs,  and  the 
jade  and  other  articles  were  supplied  from  the  large  estab¬ 
lishments  in  Peking,  under  arrangements  made  by  the 
Supervisor  of  the  Octroi,  who  selected  what  goods  should 
be  sent.1  High  officials  and  their  wives  were  admitted 
to  this  fair,  and  allowed  to  make  purchases  or  to  order 
food  or  tea  at  the  restaurants,  just  as  they  pleased.  Every¬ 
thing  was  done  exactly  as  at  a  real  market  fair  :  waiters 
and  shop  attendants  were  brought  from  the  chief  restaur¬ 
ants  in  the  city,  care  being  taken  to  select  only  those  of 
good  appearance  and  clear  pronunciation.  As  His  Majesty 
passed  down  the  line  of  booths,  the  waiters  would  shout 
out  their  menus  for  the  day,  the  hawkers  would  cry  their 
goods,  and  the  clerks  would  be  busy  calling  out  the  figures 
which  they  were  entering  on  the  day-books.  The  bustle 
and  animation  of  this  scene  used  to  delight  the  Emperor. 
The  fair  continued  daily  till  the  end  of  the  1st  Moon, 
when  the  booths  were  taken  down.  This  pleasant  custom 
was  also  abandoned  by  Chia  Ch’ing,  whose  temperament 
was  morose  and  opposed  to  all  forms  of  gaiety. 

According  to  the  annalists,  Ch’ien  Lung  displayed  in 
his  domestic  affairs  the  same  thrifty  virtues  which  dis¬ 
tinguished  the  great  Tzu  Hsi,  and  some  of  the  same  little 
weaknesses.  He  was  fond  of  certain  dainties,  and  on  his 
travels  loved  to  experiment  with  new  dishes;  for  rich, 
greasy  ones  he  had  a  particular  liking.  It  is  recorded  in 
one  of  several  old  diaries  in  the  possession  of  a  Manchu, 
whose  family  has  held  high  positions  at  Peking  for  several 
generations,  that  on  one  occasion,  while  journeying  through 
the  Yangtsze  provinces,  His  Majesty  desired  to  try  a  famous 
Yangchou  recipe  for  beancurd.  Finding  it  to  his  taste, 

1  Tzu  Hsi  instituted  a  similar  custom  at  the  Summer  Palace  during 
the  period  (before  the  coup  d'etat  of  1898)  of  her  retirement  from  State 
affairs. 


336 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


he  asked  the  cost,  and  on  being  told  that  it  was  only 
thirty  cash  (about  a  penny)  directed  that  this  cheap  and 
excellent  fare  be  added  to  the  menus  of  the  Palace  at 
Peking.  After  returning  to  the  capital,  he  discovered, 
however,  that  the  eunuchs  entered  the  dish  in  the  house¬ 
hold  kitchen  account  at  twelve  taels  (then  £3).  When 
he  asked  the  reason  they  informed  him  that  “  southern 
delicacies  are  not  easily  prepared  in  the  north.” 

These  housekeeping  “  squeezes  ”  were  a  frequent  source 
of  worry  to  Ch’ien  Lung,  as  they  were  later  to  Tzu  Hsi. 
They  contributed  to  make  posts  in  the  Imperial  Household 
amongst  the  most  coveted  in  the  Empire.  Such  posts 
were  only  open  to  Manchus ;  in  recent  years  the  annual 
income  of  a  senior  Secretary  of  the  Household  was  esti¬ 
mated  at  over  a  million  taels.  Any  attempts  to  cut  down 
the  perquisites  of  these  offices  (sucii  as  were  made  by  the 
parsimonious  Tao  Kuang)  naturally  made  the  Emperor 
unpopular  with  the  Imperial  clansmen,  many  of  whom 
were  directly  or  indirectly  beneficiaries  in  these  Palace 
squeezes. 

It  is  recorded  that  one  cold  winter’s  day,  receiving 
an  official  named  Wang  Yu-tun  in  audience,  Ch’ien  Lung 
asked  him  whether  he  had  had  anything  to  eat  before  attend¬ 
ing  Court  at  dawn,  to  which  Wang  replied,  “  We  are 
very  poor.  All  the  breakfast  that  I  can  afford  consists 
of  two  or  three  eggs.”  At  this  the  Emperor  exclaimed  : 
“  You  dare  to  tell  me  you  are  poor,  yet  you  confess  to 
eating  three  eggs  at  a  time  !  Eggs  cost  me  75  cents  a-piece 
— I  should  never  dream  of  ordering  three.”  Wang  did 
not  dare  to  tell  the  Emperor  the  true  price  of  eggs,  so  he 
said  :  “  I  was  speaking  of  an  inferior  type  of  egg,  not  the 
sort  which  would  be  suitable  for  Your  Majesty’s  table. 
My  sort  can  be  bought  for  about  a  cash  apiece.”  The 
Emperor  understood  and  gave  orders  that  the  Palace  eggs 
were  henceforward  to  be  charged  at  a  more  reasonable 
figure. 


z 


337 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


Where  women  were  concerned,  Ch’ien  Lung  was,  natur¬ 
ally,  polygamous  and  patriarchal,  after  the  Oriental 
manner,  but  ever  mindful  of  the  proprieties  and  jealous 
of  his  Consort’s  dignity,  and  for  the  rest,  courteous  and 
gentle,  and  generous.  His  domestic  life  was  free  from 
bickerings  and  scandals  and  his  children  were  well  brought 
up,  for  he  knew  how  to  combine  the  suaviter  in  modo  with 
the  fortiter  in  re.  According  to  the  annalists,  His  Majesty 
was  wont,  in  the  moments  perdus  of  his  manifold  official 
and  domestic  duties,  to  indulge  occasionally  in  emotional 
adventures  and  even  escapades.  There  were  entr’actes 
in  the  dignified  drama  of  his  public  life.  The  following 
story,  for  instance,  is  one  of  several — not  necessarily  true, 
but  certainly  believed  at  the  time. 

In  the  earlier  years  of  his  reign  the  fame  of  a  certain 
literary  courtesan,  named  San  Ku-niang,  had  penetrated 
even  to  the  Palace.  Her  gate  was  thronged  with  Princes 
and  high  officials  :  a  word  from  her  was  esteemed  as  a  high 
honour.  So  great  was  her  influence  that  she  was  able 
on  more  than  one  occasion  to  intercede  successfully  on 
behalf  of  scholars  and  officials  who  had  incurred  the 
Emperor’s  displeasure. 

One  night  the  Commandant  of  the  Peking  Gendarmerie 
summoned  one  of  his  Lieutenants  and  handed  him  an  arrow 
(the  sign  of  authority  for  summary  arrest),  bidding  him 
convey  San  Ku-niang  to  prison.  The  Lieutenant  was 
much  alarmed,  but  dared  not  disobey.  Having  effected 
an  entrance  to  the  lady’s  house,  he  proceeded  upstairs  to 
her  bedchamber.  At  the  door  he  found  a  handmaid,  to 
whom  he  communicated  his  orders.  Soon  a  soft  voice 
was  heard  from  within,  saying :  “  Sir,  you  are  my 
honoured  guest  :  it  would  not  be  seemly  for  me  to  appear 
before  you,  except  clad  in  my  gayest  raiment.  Pray 
wait  a  few  minutes  whilst  I  change  my  dress,  and  I  shall 
be  happy  to  welcome  you.” 

After  a  considerable  time  had  elapsed,  the  Lieutenant 

338 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


began  to  fear  that  the  lady  had  made  good  her  escape 
by  a  back  door.  So  he  called  out,  to  make  sure,  whereupon 
she  answered  :  “  Whoever  heard  of  a  prisoner  escaping 
from  the  clutches  of  the  Commandant  of  Gendarmerie  ? 
Wait  but  a  little  longer  and  I  shall  be  ready  to  go  with 
you.” 

At  last  San  Ku-niang  came  forth,  and  handed  to  the 
Lieutenant  a  pearl  in  a  casket.  This  he  politely  declined. 
She  then  gave  him  a  small  box,  covered  with  Imperial 
yellow  silk.  “  Take  this,”  she  said,  “  and  present  it  to 
your  chief.  It  will  perhaps  make  my  presence  unneces¬ 
sary.”  The  Lieutenant  looked  uncomfortable,  not  know¬ 
ing  what  to  do,  but  the  lady  reassured  him.  “  You  can 
but  try;  if  the  Commandant  is  not  satisfied,  come  back 
for  me.  There  is  plenty  of  time.  This  box  has  travelled 
all  over  the  Empire  ”  (it  was  one  of  the  kind  used  for 
forwarding  Imperial  decrees) ;  “  there  is  really  no  deception 
about  it.”  The  Lieutenant  took  the  box  and  wrapped  it 
up  carefully.  “  Might  I  ask,”  he  inquired,  “  if  you  had 
a  visitor  just  now?”  “Yes,”  was  the  reply,  “he  was 
a  person  of  high  position,  but  he  has  left  the  house  by  an 
underground  passage  which  runs  beneath  my  boudoir.” 
The  Lieutenant  trembled  and  turned  pale.  Lie  returned 
to  the  Commandant,  gave  him  the  box  and  told  him  what 
had  passed. 

Next  morning,  the  Commandant  was  summoned  to 
audience.  The  Emperor  said  to  him  :  “  I  know  that  you 
are  a  zealous  official,  but  you  should  look  at  things  from 
a  broader  aspect  and  refrain  from  doing  petty  detective 
work.  Such  behaviour  lacks  dignity  and  will  get  you 
into  trouble.” 

The  Commandant  kotowed  and  expressed  his  contrition. 
From  that  time  forward  the  Peking  police  refrained  from 
displaying  too  much  zeal  in  the  matter  of  domiciliary  visits. 

Travellers  who  have  visited  Peking  may  remember  the 

339 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


beautiful  ruins  of  the  Mahomedan  Mosque  which  until 
last  year  stood  just  outside  the  south  wall  of  the  Lake 
Palace  of  the  Forbidden  City.  Until  five  years  ago  services 
were  still  held  in  this  Mosque  by  a  Chinese  Mahomedan 
who  had  made  the  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  an  aged  man, 
supported  in  his  ruined  shrine,  by  a  handful  of  the  faithful ; 
but  he  died  in  1908,  and  thereafter,  the  inner  wall  and 
pillars  fell  in,  so  that  the  place — still  beautiful  in  the  last 
stage  of  ruin — became  a  pathetic  monument  to  the  splen¬ 
dours  of  a  by-gone  day.  It  was  pulled  down  in  May  last, 
by  order  of  President  Yuan  Shih-k’ai,  ostensibly  because 
it  had  become  unsafe  and  because  the  site  was  required 
for  the  erection  of  barracks,  but  really  because  its  upper 
storey  dominated  the  Palace  enclosure  at  the  point  where 
the  President’s  residence  is  located,  and  might  have  been 
used,  by  mutinous  troops,  for  “  sniping  ”  purposes.  The 
history  of  the  building  of  this  Mosque,  by  the  Emperor 
Ch’ien  Lung,  is  as  pathetic  in  its  way  as  was  the  ruined 
shrine,  and  it  has  this  merit  that  its  main  facts  are 
unquestionably  true. 

During  the  first  campaign  in  Sungaria,  Ch’ien  Lung 
heard  rumours  of  the  remarkable  beauty  of  the  wife  of 
one  of  the  tribal  chiefs,  a  Mahomedan  named  Ali  Arslan, 
then  in  arms  against  him.  She  was  known  all  over 
the  western  frontier-land  as  the  “  Model  Beauty  ” ;  and 
celebrated  for  the  softness  of  her  skin,  upon  which  she 
never  used  cosmetics.  At  a  farewell  audience  given  to 
his  Commander-in-chief,  Chao  Hui,  Ch’ien  Lung  casually 
told  him  of  the  reports  he  had  heard  of  this  lady  and  bade 
him  do  his  best  to  secure  her  for  his  Court.  After  the 
successful  end  of  the  war,  when  the  Prince,  her  husband, 
had  committed  suicide,  Chao  Hui  took  her  prisoner  and 
brought  her  to  Peking.  He  sent  couriers  ahead  to  inform 
the  Emperor  of  his  success.  Ch’ien  Lung,  greatly  pleased, 
gave  orders  that  special  honours  should  be  shown  to  her  en 
route,  and  that  every  care  be  taken  lest  the  hardships  of 

340 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


the  journey  should  impair  her  beauty.  Resides  this,  he 
ordered  Chao  Hui  to  see  to  it  that  she  did  not  commit 
suicide. 

On  arrival  at  Peking  she  was  quartered  in  the  western 
Palace  by  the  southern  lake.1  She  was  officially  known  as 
the  Hsiang  (Fragrant)  Concubine,  but  more  commonly 
referred  to  as  the  Stranger  (K’o)  Concubine.  At  first  she 
seemed  quite  contented,  indifferent  to  her  former  husband’s 
death  and  the  ruin  of  her  tribe.  Rut  when  Ch’ien  Lung 
approached  her,  she  remained  coldly  silent,  refusing  to 
utter  a  word  in  reply  to  his  questions. 

Ch’ien  Lung  bade  some  of  his  concubines,  in  whose 
powers  of  persuasion  he  had  confidence,  to  tell  her  of  the 
high  destinies  which  awaited  her.  Her  only  reply  was  to 
draw  a  dagger  from  her  sleeve.  Asked  what  this  meant, 
she  replied  :  “  My  tribe  is  destroyed  and  my  husband  is 
dead.  Long  since  I  have  resolved  on  death,  but  when  I 
die,  it  shall  not  be  alone,  like  any  meek  peasant  girl  perish¬ 
ing  by  the  roadside.  I  mean  to  avenge  my  lord’s  memory 
by  slaying  his  enemy.  If  the  Emperor  forces  me  to  become 
his  concubine,  I  shall  kill  him  and  myself  too.”  The 
Palace  women,  horrified,  bade  her  attendants  take  the 
dagger  from  her.  She  smiled  :  “  Whatever  you  may  do, 
I  shall  find  a  way.  As  for  you,  if  you  do  not  cease  from 
troubling  me,  I  shall  kill  one  of  you  first.” 

Despairing  of  persuading  her,  they  reported  what  she 
had  said  to  the  Emperor.  He  saw  that  for  the  moment 
it  was  hopeless  to  try  to  win  her,  but  he  often  visited 
her  apartments  and  sat  for  a  short  time  in  her  company, 
believing  that  time  would  heal  her  wound  and  that  she 
would  ultimately  come  to  regard  him  with  favour.  At 
the  same  time  he  had  her  carefully  guarded,  to  prevent 
her  from  making  any  attempt  on  his  life.  When  she 

1  The  building  in  which  she  lived  and  mourned  is  now  the  main 
gate-hall  of  the  President’s  Palace,  known  as  the  Hsin  Hua-men,  or 
Gate  of  New  China. 


341 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


found  that  she  was  continually  watched,  she  seemed  to 
abandon  the  idea  of  suicide  :  but  one  day  after  she  had 
been  in  the  Palace  about  two  years,  her  attendants  reported 
that  on  the  occasion  of  the  Moslem  New  Year,  she  had 
been  found  weeping  bitterly.  It  was  then  that  Ch’ien 
Lung  gave  orders  for  a  mosque  to  be  built  just  outside  the 
Lake  Palace,  on  the  south  side,  which  she  would  be  able 
to  see  from  her  residence,  the  Tower  of  the  Jewelled  Moon. 
Houses  and  shops  were  built  there  exactly  like  those  of 
her  native  Sungaria,  in  the  hope  of  giving  comfort  to  her 
wounded  spirit.  The  spot  was  known  as  the  Moslem 
Encampment. 

Now  the  Empress  Dowager,  then  in  her  eightieth  year, 
had  great  influence  over  her  son.  She  was  sorely  distressed 
at  Ch’ien  Lung’s  infatuation,  and  feared  for  him  the  risk 
of  assassination.  So  she  said  to  him  :  “  As  the  woman  is 
obstinately  resolved  not  to  yield  to  your  advances,  and 
as  she  is  sick  of  life — why  not  put  her  to  death  ?  Or  at 
least  send  her  back  to  her  own  home,  and  trouble  yourself 
no  more  about  her.”  But  the  Emperor  could  not  bear 
the  idea  of  losing  her,  so,  hoping  against  hope,  he  continued 
to  wait.  At  last,  on  the  day  of  the  winter  solstice,  when 
he  was  due  to  be  absent  from  the  Palace  and  to  spend 
the  night  in  the  Hall  of  Fasting  at  the  Temple  of  Heaven, 
the  Empress  Dowager  determined  to  act. 

She  waited  until  the  Emperor  had  quitted  the  Palace, 
and  then  sent  a  messenger  to  bid  the  “  Model  Beauty  ” 
attend  her  at  the  Palace  of  Motherly  Tranquillity. 
When  she  had  come  into  the  presence,  the  outer  gates  of  the 
Palace  were  made  fast.  “  I  hear  that  you  will  not  submit 
to  His  Majesty,”  said  the  Empress  sternly.  “  What  is 
it  that  you  propose  to  do?  ”  She  replied,  “  I  mean  to 
die.”  “  So  be  it !  I  am  ready  to  grant  you  the  privilege 
of  committing  suicide,  here  and  now.”  The  unhappy 
woman  expressed  her  gratitude  by  kotowing  several  times. 
“  Your  Majesty  the  Empress  Dowager  is  showing  me 

342 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


undeserved  kindness  in  thus  meeting  my  wishes.  I 
submitted  to  the  ignominy  of  being  compelled  to  make 
this  long  journey  under  escort,  in  the  hope  that  I  should 
not  die  alone,  that  I  might  be  able  to  avenge  my  husband’s 
memory  by  a  deed  which  would  stagger  the  Empire. 
But  this  cannot  be,  for  I  am  too  closely  guarded.  What 
then  is  the  use  of  my  continuing  this  useless  and  aimless 
existence?  Is  it  not  far  better  that  I  should  re-join  my 
late  lord  in  the  other  world  and  close  my  eyes,  satisfied, 
in  death?  I  thank  Your  Majesty  for  your  grace  in 
acceding  to  my  wishes,  and,  in  the  realms  of  Hades, 
shall  not  forget  your  benevolence.”  As  she  made  an 
end  of  speaking  the  tears  welled  from  her  eyes.  The 
Empress,  greatly  touched,  bade  a  eunuch  convey  her 
immediately  to  a  room  in  one  of  the  wings  of  the  Palace, 
where  she  hanged  herself  to  a  beam. 

The  Emperor  was  at  the  Hall  of  Fasting,  but  a  confi¬ 
dential  eunuch  came  running  to  tell  him  that  his  beloved 
concubine  had  been  summoned  to  the  presence  of  the 
Empress  Dowager.  Fearing  the  worst,  in  great  distress 
of  mind,  he  set  out  in  all  haste  for  the  Palace,  although 
in  so  doing  he  violated  the  rule  which  required  him  to 
remain  in  the  Hall  of  Fasting  till  the  morrow.  On  his 
arrival,  finding  the  doors  of  the  Empress  Dowager’s  Palace 
barred,  he  stood  there  weeping,  till  the  gates  were  opened 
and  a  eunuch  said  :  “  Her  Majesty  desires  that  you  will 
repair  to  her  presence.”  He  entered,  and  the  Empress 
took  him  to  the  side  room  where  the  concubine  was 
hanging  from  the  rafter,  quite  dead.  There  was  no  sign 
of  pain  or  struggle  on  her  beautiful  and  placid  face. 
Ch’ien  Lung  was  greatly  grieved  at  her  death,  and  had 
her  buried  with  the  honours  of  a  concubine  of  the  first 
rank. 

During  the  last  decade  of  Ch’ien  Lung’s  reign,  the 
Government  of  China  was  practically  concentrated  in 

343 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


the  hands  of  the  Grand  Secretary,  Ho  Shen,  and  of  his 
proteges  and  partisans  in  the  provinces.  As  his  power 
increased,  so  did  his  ambition.  During  the  three  years 
which  elapsed  between  the  Emperor’s  abdication  and  his 
death  (1796-99)  his  word  was  law  in  the  land,  and  his 
fortune  grew  to  an  extent  unparalleled  in  the  history  of 
China.  He  levied  a  fixed  percentage  on  the  pay  of  the 
troops  and  instituted  a  regular  tariff  for  the  sale  of  offices, 
so  that  it  was  said  of  him  (as  of  Prince  Ch’ing  under 
Kuang  Hsu)  that  his  back  door  was  a  market-place  for 
peacocks’  feathers  and  buttons.  His  private  residence 
was  far  more  magnificent  in  its  furnishings  than  the 
Emperor’s  Palace,  and  he  had  amassed  a  wealth  of  jade 
and  jewels  greater  than  all  the  Imperial  treasure.  It 
was  inevitable  that  in  a  land  where  money  is  the  beginning 
and  end  of  politics,  this  man’s  vast  fortune  should  expose 
him  to  the  gravest  dangers  so  soon  as  the  protection  of 
the  Emperor  was  withdrawn. 

Ho  Shen’s  origin  was  a  humble  one,  though  he  showed 
no  signs  of  it,  his  education  and  manners  being  sufficiently 
good  to  impress  and  charm  Lord  Macartney  and  his  staff 
at  Jehol.  He  was  originally  a  sergeant  of  the  Palace 
guards,  and  being  strong  and  handsome  in  appearance, 
was  specially  selected  to  escort  the  Imperial  sedan. 
From  one  of  the  diaries  of  the  Manchu  clansmen,  above 
referred  to,  we  take  the  following  description  of  the  manner 
in  which  he  first  won  Ch’ien  Lung’s  favour.  When  the 
Emperor  was  about  fifty  years  of  age,  it  happened  one 
day  that  he  was  leaving  the  eastern  gate  of  the  Forbidden 
City  in  his  chair,  and  as  he  was  carried  along,  he  was 
reading  a  memorial  which  had  just  reached  him  regarding 
an  outbreak  of  rebellion  in  Ssu-ch’uan.  The  Everlasting 
Lord’s  face  was  clouded  as  he  read,  and  his  bearers  over¬ 
heard  him  saying  :  “If  the  tiger  or  the  rhinoceros  escapes 
from  its  cage,  if  the  gem  be  injured  in  the  casket,  who  is 
to  blame?  ”  This  well-known  quotation,  from  the  Dis- 

344 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


courses  of  Confucius,  means  that  the  party  responsible 
for  a  misfortune  must  expect  to  bear  the  blame.  None 
of  the  bearers  understood  the  allusion,  but  Ho  Shen 
who  was  riding  alongside  said  to  them  :  “  ‘  Yeh  ’  (the 
Master)  means  that  officials  holding  responsible  posts 
must  be  made  accountable  for  every  dereliction  of  duty.” 

Ch’ien  Lung  heard  this  reply,  and  was  pleased  at  the 
man’s  quick  intelligence.  He  called  to  Ho  Shen  :  “You 
are  only  a  sergeant,  but  you  have  evidently  read  your 
Four  Books  to  some  purpose.  Attend  for  audience 
after  Our  return  to  the  Palace.”  The  Emperor  was  so 
greatly  delighted  with  his  conversation  at  the  audience 
which  followed,  that  he  gave  him  unparalleled  promotion. 
His  ready  wit  and  prompt  replies  to  Ch’ien  Lung’s  epi¬ 
grams,  which  he  capped  with  a  pointed  antithesis,  appealed 
to  the  Emperor’s  literary  tastes.  He  rose  to  be  Viceroy, 
President  of  a  Board  and  Grand  Councillor,  until  at  the 
last  his  power  was  supreme  in  the  Empire.  His  educa¬ 
tion,  from  the  scholar’s  point  of  view,  was  superficial, 
but  he  concealed  his  lack  of  learning  under  a  remarkable 
talent  for  epigrams.  He  was  appointed  tutor  to  Prince 
Chia,  who  succeeded  Ch’ien  Lung  on  the  Throne.  Ho 
Shen  disliked  the  young  Prince,  whose  character  was 
surly  and  generally  unsympathetic,  and  did  his  best  to 
dissuade  Ch’ien  Lung  from  selecting  him  as  his  Heir. 
It  is  recorded  that  on  one  occasion  he  lost  his  temper 
with  his  pupil  and  kicked  him  slightly.  The  insult  was 
never  forgotten  or  forgiven  by  Chia  Ch’ing,  and  Ho 
Shen  lived  to  regret  that  he  had  not  adopted  a  more 
conciliatory  attitude  towards  the  Heir  to  the  Throne. 

Until  the  death  of  Ch’ien  Lung,  however,  it  was  Ho 
Shen,  and  not  the  future  Emperor,  who  dominated  the 
situation.  After  his  abdication,  Ch’ien  Lung  adopted 
the  title  of  “  Tai  Shang-huang,”  or  “  Exalted  Emperor 
who  has  vacated  the  Throne,”  but  he  continued  to  take 
an  active  part  in  State  affairs,  and  for  the  remaining 

345 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


three  years  of  his  life  was  always  present  at  Imperial 
audiences,  besides  giving  his  decision  on  all  decrees.  At 
audience  he  sat  in  the  Imperial  seat,  facing  the  south, 
while  his  son,  Chia  Ch’ing,  sat  on  a  small  stool  facing  the 
west.  It  is  recorded  in  the  diary  above  mentioned,  that 
one  morning,  Ho  Shen,  as  doyen  of  the  Council,  came  in 
as  usual  for  audience,  and  knelt  in  waiting  for  a  long 
time.  His  Majesty,  the  ex-Emperor,  sat  with  closed 
eyes,  as  if  in  deep  slumber,  but  all  the  while  he  could  be 
heard  muttering  to  himself. 

The  Emperor  Chia  Ch’ing  listened  intently,  but  could 
not  catch  a  word.  At  last  Ch’ien  Lung  opened  his  eyes, 
saying  :  “  What  are  the  names  of  those  men  ?  ”  Ho  Shen 
promptly  replied  :  “  Kao  T’ien-te  and  Kou  Wen-ming.” 
Ch’ien  Lung  closed  his  eyes  again  and  repeated  the  names 
several  times,  after  which  he  motioned  to  Ho  Shen  to 
leave  the  hall  and  not  another  word  was  uttered.  No 
other  audience  was  held  on  that  day. 

Chia  Ch’ing  was  greatly  astonished,  and  a  few  days 
later  summoned  Ho  to  secret  audience.  “  What  was  His 
Majesty  saying  to  himself  the  other  day,  and  what  did 
those  six  syllables  mean  which  you  uttered  in  reply  ?  ” 
Ho  answered  :  “  His  Majesty  was  reciting  a  famous 
Tibetan  mystic  spell,  which  means  death  to  the  person 
against  whom  it  is  uttered,  at  what  ever  distance  he  may 
be,  even  though  he  be  perfectly  well  at  the  time.  Your 
slave  heard  His  Majesty  uttering  this  incantation,  and 
knew  that  the  persons  whom  His  Majesty  wished  to  ban 
were  the  leaders  in  the  White  Lily  conspiracy  :  therefore 
in  answering  him,  I  spoke  their  names.”  Chia  Ch’ing 
laid  this  incident  to  heart,  for  Ho’s  proficiency  in  Budd¬ 
histic  arts  of  incantation  struck  him  as  dangerous.  After 
Ch’ien  Lung’s  demise,  two  years  later,  this  was  one  of 
the  things  which  he  remembered  against  Ho  Shen. 


346 


CHAPTER  XIV 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  HO  SHEN 

As  already  stated,  the  old  Emperor  Ch’ien  Lung  con¬ 
tinued  after  his  abdication  to  supervise  all  important 
business  of  State,  and  showed  no  signs  of  failing  health 
until  the  autumn  of  1798,  when  he  was  attacked  by 
paralysis.  He  lingered  on  until  February  7,  1799, 
when  he  died,  at  8  a.m.,  on  the  third  day  of  the  Chinese 
new  year,  in  the  Hall  of  Mind  Nurture. 

The  opening  of  Chia  Ch’ing’s  reign  had  not  been 
auspicious;  it  seemed  as  if  the  zenith  of  prosperity  had 
been  reached  in  the  sixtieth  year  of  Ch’ien  Lung  (1795), 
and  with  that  Monarch’s  abdication  a  period  of  decline 
set  in.  Rebellions  had  broken  out  in  Hunan,  Hupei 
and  Kueichou,  and  the  White  Lily  sect  had  become  a 
power  in  the  land.  Ch’ien  Lung  had  the  mortification 
of  feeling  that  he  was  leaving  a  disturbed  Empire  to  his 
son,  who  was  now  in  his  thirty -ninth  year,  a  man  without 
natural  ability,  of  suspicious  and  vindictive  temperament. 

On  the  day  after  his  father’s  death,  Chia  Ch’ing  issued 
a  decree  complaining  that  the  military  operations  against 
the  rebels  were  being  dragged  on  without  appreciable 
result.  With  good  cause  he  observed :  “  The  Com- 

manders-in-chief  do  not  seem  to  be  in  the  least  anxious 
to  put  down  the  rebellion,  since  they  are  able  to  enrich 
themselves  and  wax  fat  at  the  expense  of  the  disturbed 
districts.  They  report  mythical  victories,  and  are  lost 
to  all  sense  of  shame.  Manchu  bodyguardsmen  and 

347 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


secretaries  are  all  only  too  glad  to  proceed  to  the  seat  of 
trouble,  but  their  zeal  is  not  due  to  any  patriotic  motive. 
Penniless  officials  come  back  from  service  at  the  front 
with  amply  lined  pockets.  On  their  return  to  Peking 
they  apply  at  once  for  leave  to  revisit  their  family  tombs, 
not  from  a  sense  of  filial  respect,  but  in  order  to  invest  their 
ill-gotten  gains  in  the  purchase  of  land.  All  this  money 
comes  ultimately  from  the  unfortunate  people,  plundered 
to  satisfy  their  insatiable  greed.  No  wonder,  then,  that 
more  and  more  recruits  join  the  rebels,  and  that  none  can 
foresee  an  end  to  the  troubles.  Not  only  are  the  rebels’ 
numbers  as  great  as  ever,  but  their  ranks  are  steadily 
increasing. 

“  My  late  father  lost  both  sleep  and  appetite  because  of 
his  anxiety  at  the  spread  of  the  rebellion,  and  with  his 
last  breath  he  asked  whether  there  were  any  news  of  a 
victory  at  the  front.  In  his  valedictory  mandate  he  left 
behind  no  instructions  concerning  other  matters,  pre¬ 
sumably  because  he  left  me  with  full  authority  to  deal 
with  them  in  my  discretion.  Until  these  lawless  sects 
have  been  suppressed  I  shall  feel  myself  unfilial  towards 
my  late  father’s  memory.  If  my  Grand  Councillors  and 
Generals  in  the  field  are  all  disloyal  to  the  Throne,  how 
can  I  comfort  the  soul  of  my  father  in  Heaven  ?  Is  it 
the  fact  that  they  are  indifferent  to  the  fate  which  is 
about  to  visit  them,  and  are  content  to  be  disloyal  them¬ 
selves,  as  well  as  making  their  Emperor  unfilial  ? 

“  I  cannot  allow  further  leakages  of  funds  to  enrich  the 
official  class.  Taxation  cannot  be  increased,  and  the 
Government  revenues  should  be  ample  for  all  needs. 
My  father  in  his  extreme  old  age  became  too  lenient 
and  bestowed  high  rewards  upon  the  least  report  of  a 
success.  In  the  case  of  a  reverse  he  would  merely  ad¬ 
minister  a  mild  rebuke,  and  reinstate  the  offender  so  soon 
as  he  had  retrieved  his  error.  During  the  last  few  years 
Yung  Pao  alone  was  sent  to  prison  for  cowardice,  and  even 

348 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


he  was  promptly  released.  It  is  very  certain  that  Yung 
Pao  is  not  the  only  coward  in  our  ranks  !  Every  trifling 
success  is  exaggerated  and  serious  defeats  are  glossed 
over.  Possibly  the  idea  was  to  save  my  father  distress, 
which  at  his  age  would  have  followed  upon  evil  tidings, 
but  in  military  matters  accuracy  is  essential.  There  were 
always  reports  of  terrible  carnage  on  the  rebels’  side,  but 
the  figures  were  a  tissue  of  falsehoods. 

“  These  abuses  cannot  be  allowed  to  continue.  I  insist 
that  I  be  informed  of  the  true  state  of  affairs.  What  good 
can  come  of  representing  a  disgraceful  defeat  as  a  glorious 
victory  ?  I  am  Lord  of  the  Empire,  and  I  require  the 
truth  above  everything.  All  I  care  about  is  peace  and 
plenty,  absence  of  rebellion,  and  the  contentment  of  my 
subjects.  I  shall  show  no  mercy  for  misconduct  in  the 
field ;  all  my  commanders  will  do  well,  therefore,  to  purge 
themselves  of  error  and  to  clear  their  minds  of  cant.  Let 
them  exert  themselves  to  restore  the  halcyon  days  of  peace, 
otherwise  they  will  be  dealt  with  by  martial  law.  My 
words  will  be  followed  up  by  action ;  do  not  imagine  that 
your  new  Sovereign  can  be  hoodwinked  !  ” 

The  above  decree  was  specially  directed  at  Ho  Shen 
and  his  party,  which  included  the  majority  of  high  officials, 
both  civil  and  military.  Four  days  later  a  decree  was 
issued,  in  response  to  memorials  from  the  ever  servile 
Censorate,  which  stripped  Ho  Shen  of  all  his  offices  and 
commanded  his  imprisonment  in  the  Board  of  Punish¬ 
ments,  together  with  Fu  Ch’ang-an,  the  President  of  the 
Board  of  Revenue.  Ho  Shen  was  Comptroller-General 
of  two  boards,  and  held  a  plurality  of  offices.  Chia  Ch’ing 
placed  his  elder  brother,  Prince  Ch’eng,  on  the  Council 
and  made  him  Comptroller  of  a  Board,  although  this  was 
contrary  to  dynastic  house-law.  Further  sweeping 
changes  were  made,  and  many  of  Ch’ien  Lung’s  trusted 
Ministers  were  summarily  dismissed  before  he  had  been 
dead  a  week.  Such  hasty  action,  while  the  Court  was  in 

349 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


deep  mourning,  was  regarded  by  the  orthodox  as  ex¬ 
tremely  unfilial.  Chia  Ch’ing  endeavoured  to  justify  his 
action  on  the  ground  that,  had  his  father  been  alive,  he 
would  have  cordially  endorsed  the  curt  dismissal  of  those 
whom  he  had  delighted  to  honour.  We  have  already 
alluded  to  the  frequency  with  which,  under  the  Manchus, 
the  favourites  of  the  old  regime  have  been  dismissed  by  the 
new,  but  Chia  Ch’ing  acted  with  almost  indecent  haste.1 

Two  days  later,  on  the  9th,  he  issued  the  following 
decree  concerning  Ho  Shen’s  offences  :  “  Ho  Shen  re¬ 

ceived  extraordinary  favours  from  His  departed  Majesty, 
and  was  promoted  from  the  low  position  of  Imperial 
guardsman  to  the  highest  offices,  which  he  has  held  for 
nigh  on  twenty  years.  He  has  been  steeped  in  the  lavish 
bounty  of  my  late  father  to  an  extent  unparalleled  in  the 
history  of  the  Court.  The  arduous  duties  of  Government 
have  now  devolved  on  me  by  inheritance,  and  my  father’s 
demise  finds  me  ‘  sleeping  on  a  straw  mat  and  pillowed 
on  a  clod.’  2  My  thoughts  dwell  ever  on  the  Confucian 
precept  :  ‘For  three  years  after  a  parent’s  death  none  of 
his  former  surroundings  should  be  changed.’  But  all 
within  and  without  the  wide  seas  realise  my  late  sire’s 
reverence  for  Heaven,  his  obedience  to  ancestral  tradition, 
his  diligence  in  government,  and  affection  for  his  people. 
His  example  stands  out  as  a  shining  light  for  my  house 
and  dynasty  to  follow  for  all  time;  how,  then,  should  a 
period  of  three  years  suffice  for  obedience  to  his  behests? 
I  could  not  find  it  in  my  heart  to  dismiss  from  office  any 
of  my  father’s  Ministers,  even  were  they  guilty  of  offences. 
I  should  take  into  consideration  any  extenuating  circum¬ 
stances  to  mitigate  their  punishment.  I  am  sure  that 
His  Sacred  Majesty  is  at  this  moment  fully  conscious  of 
my  sincerity  and  concurs  in  my  sentiments. 

1  When  Chia  Ch’ing  died,  struck  by  lightning,  the  orthodox  regarded 
it  as  Heaven’s  chastisement  for  his  lack  of  filial  piety. 

2  A  classical  metaphor  for  a  son’s  mourning. 

350 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


“  But  as  regards  Ho  Shen,  his  crimes  are  too  grave  to 
admit  of  possible  pardon,  for  he  has  been  impeached  on 
many  counts  by  the  Censorate.  I  therefore  placed  him 
under  arrest  two  days  ago,  and  shall  now  proceed  to 
state  his  offences  seriatim  for  general  information. 

“  On  the  3rd  day  of  the  9th  Moon  of  the  60th  year  of 
Ch’ien  Lung,  Ho  Shen  presented  me  with  a  jade  sceptre, 
intending  thereby  to  signify  that  I  had  been  nominated 
successor  to  the  Throne.  He  thus  betrayed  a  State 
secret,  in  the  hope  that  I  should  consider  myself  beholden 
to  him  for  advancing  my  claims  with  the  late  Emperor. 

“  In  the  spring  of  last  year  the  late  Emperor  was  at 
the  Summer  Palace,  and  summoned  Ho  Shen  to  audience. 
He  actually  presumed  to  ride  on  horseback  through  the 
central  gate,  past  the  main  Imperial  Hall,  right  up  to  the 
entrance  of  my  father’s  apartments.  Could  any  action 
equal  this  in  base  presumption,  as  if  he  had  forgotten 
what  was  due  to  his  Sovereign  and  father  !  Pleading  an 
affection  of  the  leg,  he  would  enter  the  Forbidden  City  in 
a  chair  borne  by  bearers.  He  was  the  observed  of  all 
observers  as  he  passed  calmly  in  and  out  of  the  Gate  of 
Divine  Military  Prowess,  without  the  smallest  vestige  of 
shame  or  compunction. 

“  He  even  dared  to  appropriate  to  his  own  use,  as 
secondary  wives,  women  who  had  been  employed  as 
handmaidens  in  the  Palace. 

“  After  the  outbreak  of  the  Hupei  and  Ssu-ch’uan  re¬ 
bellion,  propagated  by  seditious  sects,  my  father  used 
eagerly  to  await  news  from  the  front,  sitting  up  until  late 
into  the  night,  taking  neither  food  nor  sleep.  But  Ho 
Shen  deceived  him,  deliberately  suppressing  and  even 
falsifying  reports  from  the  field,  so  that  the  operations 
have  dragged  on  and  on. 

“  My  father  appointed  him  Comptroller-General  of  the 
Board  of  Civil  Offices  and  Punishments,  and  at  the  same 
time,  because  of  his  knowledge  of  finance,  appointed  him 

351 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


to  supervise  and  direct  the  proceedings  of  the  Board  of 
Revenue.  The  result  of  this  was  the  establishment  of 
a  one-man  power;  soon  none  dared  oppose  him. 

“  Last  winter  my  father’s  health  was  bad,  so  that  his 
handwriting  on  rescripts  was  sometimes  illegible.  Ho 
Shen  actually  presumed  on  one  occasion  to  say  :  4  Better 
tear  off  that  rescript  and  use  one  that  I  have  written 
instead.’ 

“  Last  month  Ho  Shen  suppressed  an  official  report  from 
Kokonor  concerning  robbery  under  arms  by  bands  of 
Mahomedans,  who  had  murdered  two  Tibetan  merchants, 
in  the  employ  of  the  Dalai  Lama.  He  returned  the 
memorial  to  the  sender  and  made  no  report  to  the  Throne. 

“  After  my  late  father’s  death  I  gave  orders  that  any 
Mongol  Princes  and  Dukes  who  had  not  had  the  small¬ 
pox  should  be  excused  from  coming  to  Peking.  Ho  Shen 
disregarded  these  orders,  and  stopped  all  Mongol  Princes 
from  coming,  whether  they  had  had  smallpox  or  not. 
In  so  doing,  he  violated  the  Throne’s  policy  of  showing 
courtesy  to  vassals.  His  motives  defy  conjecture. 

44  The  Grand  Secretary  Su-ling-a  was  stone  deaf,  far 
gone  in  senile  dotage.  He  was,  however,  the  father-in- 
law  of  Ho  Lin,  LIo  Shen’s  brother,  and  for  this  reason  the 
Throne  was  never  advised  of  his  utter  incapacity.  Wu 
Sheng-lan,  the  Vice-president,  and  Li  Kuang-yiin,  Director 
of  the  Imperial  stud,  were  originally  tutors  at  Ho  Shen’s 
private  residence,  which  alone  accounts  for  their  ex¬ 
traordinary  advancement.  In  fact,  Ho  Shen  was  a  dictator, 
and  did  not  hesitate  to  dismiss  secretaries  on  the  Grand 
Council  at  his  own  sweet  will. 

44  Ho  Shen’s  property  has  just  been  examined.  It 
appears  that  he  has  built  himself  a  mansion  of  Imperial 
cedar  wood,  the  use  of  which  constitutes  lese  majeste  on 
the  part  of  a  subject;  the  style  of  architecture  is  in  exact 
imitation  of  the  late  Emperor’s  Palace  of  Imperial  Longe¬ 
vity  in  the  Forbidden  City,  whilst  the  pleasure  gardens 

352 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


and  pavilions  are  copied  from  the  scheme  of  decoration 
used  in  the  ‘  Terrace  of  the  Fortunate  Isles  ’  at  the 
Summer  Palace.  Into  his  motives  in  this  matter  let  us 
not  inquire  too  closely  ! 

“  Amongst  his  jewels  and  precious  stones  he  has  collected 
two  hundred  pearl  necklaces,  a  number  greatly  exceeding 
those  in  the  Imperial  Palace.  He  possesses  one  particular 
pearl  far  superior,  both  in  size  and  lustre,  to  that  worn  by 
me  in  the  Imperial  hat  of  State.1  In  his  collection  there  are 
jewels  which  were  meant  exclusively  for  the  Emperor’s 
use  and  to  which  he  had  no  right ;  the  number  of  his  uncut 
stones  is  legion,  far  surpassing  those  of  the  Imperial  house¬ 
hold.  The  inventory  of  his  hoard  of  bullion  is  incomplete, 
but  the  amount  is  certainly  several  million  ounces. 

“  Such  a  career  of  venality  and  corruption  may  be 
called  unique.  Ho  Shen  has  acknowledged  the  truth  of 
each  separate  count  of  the  above  indictment,  after  under¬ 
going  a  severe  examination  2  at  the  hands  of  the  Princes 
and  Ministers. 

“  The  fact  now  stands  clearly  revealed  that  Ho  Shen  is 
a  deep-dyed  traitor,  lost  to  all  moral  sense,  who  has  be¬ 
trayed  his  Sovereign  and  jeopardised  the  State.  As  self- 
constituted  dictator  he  has  usurped  supreme  authority. 

1  The  famous  pearl  worn  in  the  Imperial  hat  was  known  as  the  K’ang 
Lung  Chiao  Tzu  (“  The  azure  dragon  instructing  posterity  ”).  The  pearl 
in  Ho  Shen’s  collection  here  referred  to  was  even  more  famous.  It 
was  called  the  Cheng  Ta  Kuang  ming  (“  Of  glorious  good  omen”),  and  had 
been  brought  to  the  Ming  Emperor  Yung-Lo  from  Ceylon  by  one  of  his 
eunuch  envoys  in  the  15th  century.  It  disappeared  from  the  Palace, 
stolen  by  the  eunuch  Wei  Chung-hsien,  in  1625,  and  remained  in  the 
South  till  1781,  when  it  wras  sent  as  tribute  to  Ch’ien  Lung  from  Chekiang 
and  appropriated  by  Ho  Shen.  There  was  an  ancient  prophecy  con¬ 
cerning  it,  that  its  loss  would  always  mean  ruin  to  the  dynasty.  After 
Chia  Ch’ing  had  confiscated  it  from  Ho  Shen’s  estate,  he  referred  to  this 
prophecy.  The  last  occasion  on  which  it  was  seen  at  Court  was  at  the 
Empress  Lung  Yu’s  reception  to  the  ladies  of  the  Diplomatic  Body  in 
1911,  when  the  child  Emperor  Hsuan  T’ung  wore  it  in  his  cap.  Rumour 
declares  that  it  was  stolen  in  August  1911  by  a  eunuch  named  Shen 
Lo-t’ing. 

2  Under  torture. 


AA 


353 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


He  has  lent  himself  to  the  most  flagrant  abuses,  but  his 
venal  greed  and  insatiate  lust  for  lucre  are  comparatively 
light  crimes  as  compared  with  the  depths  of  his  treason. 

“  To  my  father,  who  lavished  favours  upon  him,  he  was 
guilty  of  most  wanton  ingratitude.  Had  any  of  his 
colleagues  impeached  him  years  ago,  my  father,  in  his 
divine  wisdom,  would  surely  have  decreed  his  immediate 
decapitation,  but  not  a  word  was  ever  breathed  against 
him.  My  officials  may  now  pretend  that  their  silence  was 
due  to  a  loyal  desire  to  avoid  causing  distress  to  my  aged 
father,  but  I  know  all  too  well  that  the  real  reason  lay  in 
their  fear  of  Ho  Shen’s  power.  That  alone  kept  their  lips 
sealed. 

“  Ho  Shen’s  offences  against  my  father  are  innumerable, 
exceeding  in  number  the  hairs  of  the  head.  If  I  condone 
them,  how  can  I  comfort  the  soul  of  my  father  in  Heaven  ? 
The  necessity  for  painful  measures  is  forced  upon  me;  I 
shall  be  glad  to  know  the  opinion  of  my  Viceroys  and 
Governors  in  the  matter.  My  metropolitan  officials  have 
already  been  ordered  to  advise  as  to  the  sentence  to  be 
inflicted;  Viceroys  and  Governors  are  hereby  ordered 
to  submit  their  views,  together  with  any  further  details  of 
Ho  Shen’s  crimes  that  may  be  within  their  knowledge.” 

When  the  Great  Man  falls  in  China  he  brings  down 
many  in  his  ruin.  Chia  Ch’ing’s  blood  was  up;  he  com¬ 
menced  a  general  proscription  against  the  proteges  of  Ho 
Shen  in  high  places,  making  careful  selection  of  those  with 
squeezable  estates.  The  first  victim  was  the  Manchu 
Governor  of  Shantung.  The  decree  concerning  him  said  : 
“  Amongst  the  memorials  received  by  Imperial  courier 
to-day  from  I-chiang-a,  Governor  of  Shantung,  I  find  a 
private  letter  addressed  to  Ho  Shen,  which  states  that 
the  Governor  had  learned  that  the  late  Emperor  had 
‘  become  a  guest  on  high,’  and  goes  on  to  exhort  Ho  Shen 
to  subdue  his  grief  and  devote  himself  to  his  duties.  He 
ignores  me  entirely,  saying  nothing  about  the  awful  loss 

354 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


which  I  have  sustained,  though  even  the  ordinary  social 
relations  of  private  life  and  common  politeness  require 
that  a  line  of  sympathy  and  condolence  be  addressed  to 
a  son  who  had  just  lost  a  father.  I-chiang-a,  in  fact,  sets 
himself  to  console  Ho  Shen,  bidding  him  moderate  his 
grief,  but  to  me  he  sends  only  a  routine  memorial  asking 
after  my  health,  after  which  he  proceeds  to  report  on  the 
affairs  of  his  province,  as  if  nothing  unusual  had  occurred. 
The  Provincial  Treasurer,  Wu  Hsiian-kuang,  is  a  Chinese, 
and  not  a  Manchu  like  I-chiang-a,  but  he  has  had  the 
grace  and  good  feeling  to  send  me  a  memorial  expressive 
of  the  deepest  sympathy  and  couched  in  most  touching 
terms.  Immediately  on  hearing  of  the  late  Emperor’s 
death  he  wrote  beseeching  me  to  take  comfort,  writing, 
in  fact,  as  a  Minister  should  write  to  his  Sovereign. 
I-chiang-a,  a  Manchu  and  the  son  of  a  Grand  Secretary, 
cannot  plead  ignorance  of  etiquette,  especially  as  he 
served  for  many  years  as  Secretary  of  the  Grand  Council. 
He  treats  my  father’s  death  with  callous  hardness,  and 
by  thus  tactfully  condoling  with  Ho  Shen,  shows  all  too 
plainly  that  my  father  was  nothing  to  him  in  the  past 
and  that  I  am  nothing  to  him  in  the  present.  It  is  Ho 
Shen  whom  he  worships  and  flatters.  He  is  a  monster 
of  black  ingratitude,  and  I  transmit  to  him  hereby  my 
stern  rebuke,  besides  demanding  an  explanation  and 
referring  his  case  to  the  proper  Ministry  for  the  determina¬ 
tion  of  a  penalty.” 

In  due  course  I-chiang-a  forwarded  an  explanatory 
memorial,  but  it  failed  to  appease  the  Emperor.  “  He 
now  puts  forward  the  cunning  quibble  that  the  official 
intimation  of  my  father’s  death  had  not  reached  him. 
He  adds  that  he  has  never  had  any  personal  relations 
with  Ho  Shen,  and  wrote  merely  to  express  the  hope 
that  this  national  loss  would  inspire  Ho  Shen  to  display 
zeal  and  devotion  for  the  State.  All  this  is  simply 
ridiculous ;  what  devotion  to  the  State  could  be  expected 

355 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


from  a  man  like  Ho  Shen,  whose  crimes  have  now  been 
made  manifest  to  the  world,  and  whose  whole  career  is 
one  long  record  of  self-seeking  corruption  ?  If  I-chiang-a 
were  really  unacquainted  with  Ho  Shen,  will  he  kindly 
inform  me  into  whose  pocket  went  the  extra  receipts  under 
the  heading  of  tribute  rice,  in  regard  to  which  matter 
he  has  already  been  denounced  ?  I-chiang-a  has  been 
guilty  of  grave  offences.  He  is  hereby  cashiered  and 
ordered  to  Peking  to  await  my  further  pleasure.” 

Referring  to  the  tribute  from  the  provinces,  Chia  Ch’ing 
declared  that  Ho  Shen  had  retained  nine-tenths  of  it, 
and  that  Ch’ien  Lung  had  been  disgracefully  cheated. 
He  issued  a  decree  forbidding  any  further  remittances 
of  tribute  in  kind  from  the  provinces,  excepting  only 
medicines,  sables  and  pearls  from  Manchuria,  ginseng  and 
porcelain.  He  particularly  objected  to  the  annual  pre¬ 
sentation  of  Ju-i  (“  As  you  like  it  ”)  sceptres  from  each 
province  to  the  Throne,  and  remarked  that  to  him  these 
articles  were  anything  but  pleasing,  inasmuch  as  the 
people  were  taxed  to  provide  them. 

At  the  Emperor’s  word,  Ho  Shen’s  friends  and  followers 
now  began  to  fall  away  from  him.  The  Viceroy  of  Chihli, 
Hu  Chi-t’ang,  who  owed  all  he  had  to  Ho  Shen,  turned, 
after  the  manner  of  the  mandarin,  on  his  patron  in  dis¬ 
grace,  and  thus  memorialised  the  Throne :  “  Ho  Shen  is 
bereft  of  moral  sense;  he  cannot  be  regarded  as  a  human 
being.  His  dastardly  treason  to  the  Throne  and  cruel 
oppression  of  the  people  have  put  him  on  a  level  with  the 
rebels  in  the  west.  Infatuate  in  his  madness,  he  knows 
no  law,  human  or  divine ;  basely  ungrateful,  he  wallows 
in  crime.  I  beg  to  recommend  that  he  be  sentenced  to 
the  lingering  death.  I  have  also  ascertained  that  in  his 
usurping  arrogance  he  has  built  himself  a  lordly  sepulchre 
at  Chi-chou,  as  magnificent  as  the  Imperial  tombs.” 

After  receiving  these  thoroughly  impartial  views  from 
the  Viceroys  and  Governors,  Chia  Ch’ing  (whose  talent 

356 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


for  long-winded  reiteration  exceeded  even  that  of  Yung 
Cheng)  proceeded  once  more  to  recapitulate  the  list  of 
Ho  Shen’s  crimes.  He  recited  twenty  of  them  with 
much  wealth  of  detail,  and  observed  that  there  were  more 
behind,  though  the  whole  Court  was  well  aware  that  the 
fallen  Minister’s  one  vital  crime  was  his  enormous  wealth. 
Once  more,  playing  to  the  gallery  and  posterity,  the 
indignant  Monarch  asks  the  Court  to  deliberate  upon  an 
adequate  sentence. 

Of  Ho  Shen’s  fellow-victim  and  offender,  Fu  Ch’ang-an, 
he  observes  :  “  Fu  Ch’ang-an’s  grandsire,  sire,  uncle,  and 
brothers  all  received  hereditary  honours  from  the  Throne. 
Fu  Ch’ang-an  himself  served  for  years  on  the  Grand 
Council ;  his  daily  relations  with  Ho  Shen  were  of  the  very 
closest  kind.  He  knew  full  well  the  nature  of  Ho  Shen’s 
disgraceful  greed;  moreover,  as  he  was  constantly  in 
intimate  attendance  on  my  late  father,  privileged  to  have 
access  to  his  presence  when  alone,  he  could,  had  he  so 
wished,  have  informed  His  late  Majesty  of  Ho  Shen’s 
treasonable  and  ambitious  designs,  and  my  father  would 
have  realised  that  such  a  warning,  based  on  intimate 
knowledge,  was  worthy  of  confidence  and  serious  attention. 
In  that  case,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  Ho  Shen  would 
long  ago  have  suffered  the  penalty  of  death,  and  the 
State  would  not  then  have  had  to  deplore  the  present 
disastrous  condition  of  affairs. 

“If  he  really  thought  that  the  shock  of  such  a  revelation 
would  have  been  dangerous  to  my  aged  father,  why  did 
not  Fu  Ch’ang-an  report  the  matter  to  myself?  But 
during  the  three  years  that  have  elapsed  since  my  acces¬ 
sion,  not  a  syllable  has  he  ever  uttered  about  Ho  Shen’s 
guilt;  his  silence  proves  him  to  have  been  an  accomplice 
and  abettor.  Had  he  even  hinted  to  me  of  Ho  Shen’s 
crimes,  I  should  have  spared  him  to-day.  As  it  is,  the 
schedule  of  his  confiscated  property,  though  vastly  less 
than  that  of  Ho  Shen,  discloses  total  assets  considerably 

357 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


exceeding  ten  million  taels,  which  must  surely  be  regarded 
as  excessive  for  a  man  in  his  position.  His  remorseless 
greed  is  second  only  to  that  of  the  chief  culprit.  I  com¬ 
mand,  therefore,  that  the  two  cases  be  treated  identically, 
and  a  report  submitted  accordingly.” 

On  the  17th,  a  fortnight  after  the  death  of  the  old 
Emperor,  the  Grand  Secretaries  and  Ministers  submitted 
their  report.  Many  of  them  owed  their  advancement 
in  life  to  Ho  Shen,  but  the  ship  was  sinking  and  the  rats 
made  haste  to  leave  it.  The  fallen  Minister’s  friends 
fell  from  him — none  so  poor  to  do  him  reverence.  They 
advised  the  Throne  to  inflict  the  lingering  death  on  Ho 
Shen  and  decapitation  on  Fu  Ch’ang-an,  the  former  being 
found  guilty  of  high  treason  and  the  latter  of  having  been 
an  accomplice  before  the  fact.  Ho  Shen’s  usurpation  of 
supreme  power  constituted,  they  declared,  a  capital 
offence,  excluding  him  from  all  hope  of  mercy  at  the 
hands  of  the  law. 

Chia  Ch’ing  had  now  observed  the  usual  hypocritical 
decencies,  and  saved  his  face  in  the  orthodox  manner  by 
placing  on  his  Court  the  nominal  responsibility  for  the 
official  murdering  of  Ho  Shen  and  the  plundering  of  his 
vast  estate.  His  object  being  to  possess  himself  of  the 
wretched  Minister’s  ill-gotten  wealth,  he  could  afford  to 
dispense  with  the  lingering  death,  so  long  as  death  in  some 
form  were  inflicted.  His  next  decree,  therefore,  took  into 
gracious  consideration  “  the  undesirability  of  executing 
the  chief  Minister  of  State  like  a  common  felon  in  the 
public  square,  and,  because  the  Court  was  in  mourning, 
allowed  him  the  privilege  of  committing  suicide,  as  a 
mark  of  high  favour,  and  out  of  regard  to  the  dignity  of 
the  nation.”  As  to  Fu  Ch’ang-an,  “  as  his  property  does 
not  amount  to  a  tenth  of  that  illegally  amassed  by  Ho 
Shen,  his  punishment  is  commuted  to  confinement  pend¬ 
ing  decapitation.”  1  As  a  refinement  of  clemency,  the 
1  A  sentence  equivalent  to  imprisonment  for  life. 

358 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


Emperor  ordered  that  Fu  Ch’ang-an  was  to  be  taken 
under  guard  to  Ho  Shen’s  place  of  confinement  and  there 
compelled,  on  his  knees,  to  witness  his  late  chief’s  suicide, 
after  which  he  was  to  be  escorted  back  to  prison. 

Ho  Shen’s  brother,  Ho  Lin,  had  received  an  hereditary 
dukedom  from  His  Majesty  Ch’ien  Lung  in  recognition 
of  his  meritorious  services  in  Tibet,  and  his  name  had 
been  inscribed  amongst  those  of  the  heroes  of  the  dynasty 
in  a  side-shrine  of  the  Temple  of  Ancestors.  Chia  Ch’ing, 
after  contemptuous  references  to  Ho  Lin’s  capacity  and 
career,  ordered  that  his  dukedom  be  taken  from  him  and 
that  his  shrine  in  the  august  company  of  the  nation’s 
heroes  be  dismantled  and  overthrown.1 

One  of  Ho  Shen’s  sons  had  married  an  Imperial  Princess, 
Chia  Ch’ing’s  sister,  and  as  it  would  have  been  incon¬ 
sistent  with  the  dignity  of  the  Imperial  family  to  reduce 
him  to  the  rank  of  a  plebeian,  he  was  permitted  to  retain 
an  hereditary  earldom,  on  the  understanding  that  he  was 
to  be  confined  to  his  own  premises  and  behave  himself 
circumspectly.  Other  members  of  the  family  were  de¬ 
graded,  and  the  whole  clan  was  removed  from  the  highest 
Manchu  banner — to  which  Ch’ien  Lung  had  promoted  it — 
and  ordered  to  revert  to  the  Plain  Red  division. 

Ho  Shen  met  his  end  with  the  calm  dignity  of  a  brave 
man  and  a  philosopher.  He  was  commanded  to  kneel 
and  listen  to  Chia  Ch’ing’s  long-winded  decree  ordering 
him  to  commit  suicide.  On  its  conclusion,  he  said  :  “  His 
Majesty  is  most  gracious;  I  thank  him  for  his  clemency.” 
Then,  after  kotowing  in  the  direction  of  the  Palace,  he 
addressed  his  son  and  Fu  Ch’ang-an.  To  the  latter  he 
said:  “We  two  have  served  our  old  master  together; 
it  is  in  accordance  with  ancient  practice  that  the  Minister 

1  In  the  eyes  of  the  orthodox,  Chia  Ch’ing  by  this  act  reached  the 
lowest  depths  of  filial  impiety,  and  became  a  criminal  in  the  sight  of 
God  and  men.  This  sin  was  sufficient  in  itself  to  account  for  the 
subsequent  visitation  of  Heaven’s  wrath  upon  him. 

359 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


should  follow  his  lord  to  the  Nine  Springs.  I  shall  now 
attend  His  sainted  Majesty,  as  of  old,  and  receive  his  wise 
counsel.  The  present  Emperor  has  loyal  servants  about 
him  and  is  well  rid  of  men  such  as  you  and  I.” 

Then  he  mounted  the  dais  and  hanged  himself,  tying 
the  noose  without  assistance.  His  last  words  were  :  “  His 
late  Majesty  will  feel  indignant  wrath  in  the  Halls  of 
Hades.”  This  was  at  1  p.m.  In  a  minute  or  two  life 
was  extinct.  When  the  news  of  his  death  was  brought 
in  haste  to  the  mean-spirited  Chia  Ch’ing,  they  found  him 
kneeling  before  his  father’s  coffin  offering  propitiatory 
libations  of  wine. 

Peking  was  greatly  excited,  and  the  official  world  went 
in  terror  of  a  wholesale  proscription,  such  as  took  place 
when  the  eunuch  Wei  Chung-hsien  held  sway  at  the  end 
of  the  Ming  dynasty.  Chia  Ch’ing  was  urged  by  his  two 
elder  brothers  to  issue  a  reassuring  decree.  Knowing 
himself  to  be  extremely  unpopular,  and  fearful  of  assassina¬ 
tion,  he  followed  this  advice.  He  said,  in  his  best  manner  : 
“  Ho  Shen  is  dead.  Unless  the  Empire’s  chief  cause  of  evil 
were  pulled  up  by  the  roots,  how  could  my  Government  be 
purified  and  officialdom  purged  of  its  corroding  influence  ? 
His  case  is  concluded,  but  he  held  at  his  disposal  many 
of  the  highest  posts,  and  his  partisans  in  Peking  are  legion. 
The  provinces  swarm  with  the  sycophants  who  fawned  at 
his  gate  and  bribed  their  unlawful  way  into  his  favour. 
Should  I  proceed  to  investigate  every  case  I  would  have 
to  indite  at  least  seventy  per  cent,  of  the  higher  officials, 
which  is  clearly  impracticable,  for  there  would  be  no 
means  of  making  the  punishment  fit  the  crime.  The  times 
are  out  of  joint.  So  many  and  great  abuses  exist  in  our 
Government  that  time  fails  me  to  recapitulate  them,  I 
have  mentioned  the  worst  in  my  decrees  regarding  Ho  Shen. 
But  if  my  officials  misconstrue  my  motives  and  begin 
denouncing  their  private  enemies  to  me  on  trivial  grounds, 
inventing  plausible  evidence  for  the  wreaking  of  old 

360 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


grudges,  there  will  be  no  end  to  the  reign  of  terror  and  no 
one  will  be  safe.  I  have  no  desire  to  be  at  the  head  of  a 
party,  nor  to  allow  my  Government  to  be  divided  into 
opposing  groups,  each  animated  by  vindictive  feelings 
towards  the  other. 

“  I  dealt  severely  with  Ho  Shen  because  his  usurping 
ambition  jeopardised  the  safety  of  the  State;  his  venal 
corruption  and  subterraneous  trafficking  were  compara¬ 
tively  trivial  offences.  After  I  decided  to  strike  I  struck 
promptly  and  without  mercy.  But  if  only  warning  be 
taken  for  the  future,  I  am  ready  to  let  bygones  be  bygones. 
I  trust,  therefore,  that  none  of  you  will  harbour  nervous 
fears.  Most  of  you  are  men  of  second-rate  abilities,  but 
if  you  will  exert  yourselves  conscientiously  in  the  service 
of  the  State,  there  is  no  reason  why  you  should  not  im¬ 
prove  in  course  of  time.  Some  of  you  in  your  haste  have 
gone  astray;  you  must  now  cleanse  your  hearts  and 
purge  yourselves  of  error  in  the  hope  of  becoming  respect¬ 
able  members  of  society  and  not  mere  wastrels  and  en¬ 
cumbrances.  Trembling  obey  this  my  mandate;  let  the 
whetstone  of  conscience  make  you  keen  to  conform  to  my 
desire  for  the  dawn  of  a  better  day  !  ”  (With  many  more 
platitudes  to  the  same  effect.) 

Chia  Ch’ing’s  decrees  are  sufficient  in  themselves  to 
show  that  his  first  idea,  upon  the  death  of  his  father,  was 
to  deprive  Ho  Shen  of  his  power  and  his  fortune,  and  this 
from  purely  vindictive  and  avaricious  motives.  But  be¬ 
cause  “  face-saving  ”  traditions  and  the  elaborate  parade 
of  elementary  justice  retained  with  him  and  with  his 
Court  an  atavistic  force  of  instinct,  the  judicial  murder 
of  his  Chief  Minister  and  the  plundering  of  his  worldly 
goods  had  to  be  carried  out  with  due  observance  of  time- 
honoured  formalities  and  retributive  justice.  There  could 
be  no  doubt  that  he  and  his  immediate  adherents,  jealous 
of  Ho  Shen’s  wealth  and  power,  had  long  since  planned  the 
impeachment  and  destruction  of  Ch’ien  Lung’s  favourite, 

361 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


but  when  the  time  came,  they  were  careful  to  cover  the 
infamy  of  their  proceedings  with  a  fine  texture  of  plausible 
justification.  The  Emperor’s  sole  motives  were  jealousy 
and  greed,  but  he  compelled  his  victim,  under  torture,  to 
invest  them  with  the  virtue  of  righteous  indignation. 

In  the  ransacked  and  chaotic  jumble  of  the  Grand 
Council’s  archives,  a  portion  of  the  original  report  sub¬ 
mitted  by  the  Council  on  the  indictment  of  Ho  Shen  has 
recently  been  found.  Unfortunately,  most  of  this  docu¬ 
ment  is  missing,  but  what  remains  is  extremely  interesting. 
The  first  portion  is  a  memorandum  of  His  Majesty’s  orders, 
verbally  communicated,  concerning  the  several  matters 
on  which  the  Imperial  Commissioners  were  directed  to 
cross-examine  the  prisoner,  under  torture  if  necessary. 
It  is  unnecessary  to  reproduce  the  whole  of  this  dossier, 
but  the  Emperor’s  first  two  questions  may  be  quoted  as 
proof  of  his  grasping  and  thoroughly  sordid  intentions. 

The  first  question  was  :  “  Amongst  the  mass  of 

property  seized  in  your  various  residences  I  find  a  quantity 
of  ceilings  and  panellings  of  Imperial  cedar  wood,  the  use 
of  which  by  a  subject  is  tantamount  to  gross  lese  majeste. 
All  the  furniture  and  fittings  of  this  woodwork  are  an 
exact  reproduction  of  those  in  the  Palace  of  Tranquil 
Longevity.  What  was  your  motive  in  committing  these 
acts  of  treason  ?  Did  you  aspire  to  the  Throne  ? 

Ho  Shen’s  reply  (real  or  alleged)  amounted,  as  did  all 
the  rest  of  his  statements  under  “  cross-examination,”  to 
an  unqualified  and  humble  confession  of  guilt.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  if  he  made  the  statements  recorded 
against  him,  he  did  so  because  he  knew  that  his  doom  was 
sealed,  and  wished  to  save  himself  and  his  persecutors 
further  trouble.  His  answer  to  the  above  question  is  set 
down  as  follows  : 

“  Your  slave  had  no  right  to  have  in  his  private  residence 
ceilings  and  panellings  of  Imperial  cedar,  with  screens 
and  woodwork  in  imitation  of  those  in  the  Palace.  The 

362 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


fact  is,  I  sent  a  eunuch  named  Hu  to  the  Palace  to  have 
the  fittings  copied.  The  cedar  wood  I  purchased  myself, 
but  it  is  true  that  I  took  from  the  Palace  several  pillars 
of  crystal  and  glass.  For  this  your  slave  deserves  to  die 
the  death.” 

The  second  question  was  :  “  Amongst  the  great  assort¬ 
ment  of  pearls  and  jewels  which  were  seized  yesterday  at 
your  residences  and  handed  over  to  me  for  inspection,  I 
find  over  two  hundred  exquisite  Court  necklaces  of  pearls. 
I,  the  Emperor,  only  possess  about  eighty  Court  necklaces, 
including  those  formerly  worn  by  my  grandfather  and 
great-grandfather.  Your  necklaces  outnumber  mine  three 
to  one.  Amongst  your  large  single  pearls  there  is  one 
much  larger  than  the  one  I  wear  in  my  official  hat.  You 
have  no  right  to  wear  such  a  pearl.  How  did  you  acquire 
this  immense  collection  ?  Resides,  you  have  innumerable 
quantities  of  other  gems,  more  lustrous  and  larger  than  any 
I  possess.  Is  not  this  of  itself  convincing  proof  of  your 
covetous  wickedness?  ” 

To  this  Ho  Shen  replied  giving  the  names  of  the  various 
officials  from  whom  he  had  received  presents  of  pearls 
and  other  jewels,  chiefly  military  commanders. 

For  the  rest,  the  wretched  man  either  confessed,  or 
was  reported  to  have  confessed,  that  all  the  other  charges 
against  him,  as  set  forth  in  the  Emperor’s  indictment, 
were  true.  He  had  “  appropriated  Imperial  handmaidens 
of  exceptional  comeliness  for  his  own  purposes  ” ;  he 
had  ridden  on  horseback  in  the  Forbidden  City;  he  had 
revealed  State  secrets  and  suppressed  despatches  from 
the  seat  of  rebellion ;  he  had  prevented  the  Mongol 
mission  from  coming  to  Peking,  and  done  many  other 
evil  things,  for  all  of  which,  “  he  deserved  to  die  a  thousand 
deaths.” 

But  all  these  interesting  formalities,  in  the  case  of  a 
man  irretrievably  condemned  before  this  farce  of  an 
“  inquiry  ”  began,  were  nothing  more  than  by-play,  as 

363 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


the  Court  was  well  aware;  an  empty  parade  of  legality 
intended  to  serve  the  purposes  of  “  historical  accuracy  ” 
in  the  dynastic  records.  The  real  object  of  the  inquiry 
was  to  elicit  from  Ho  Shen  the  total  amount  of  his  property 
and  the  places  in  which  it  was  to  be  found.  In  this  matter 
he  was  less  frankly  communicative ;  after  three  “  examina¬ 
tions,”  the  list  of  his  possessions  included  60  million 
ounces  of  silver;  27,000  ounces  of  gold;  56  necklaces 
and  bracelets  of  pearls;  456  rubies  and  113  sapphires. 
The  large  Court  necklaces  were  not  included  in  the 
official  schedule,  because  the  Emperor  had  confiscated 
them  for  his  own  use  on  the  day  that  they  were  handed 
to  him  for  inspection.  (The  famous  pearl-embroidered 
jacket,  frequently  worn  by  the  Empress  Dowager 
Tzu  Hsi,  was  similarly  confiscated  from  Ho  Shen’s 
collection.) 

Ho  Shen  had  to  be  repeatedly  and  severely  beaten 
before  he  declared  the  total  amount  and  the  hiding-places 
of  his  wealth.  Eventually,  after  the  Eighth  Prince  and 
two  Grand  Secretaries  had  personally  superintended  the 
“  inquiry  ”  and  the  application  of  severe  torture,  Ho  Shen 
disclosed  the  fact  that  most  of  his  treasure  was  buried  in 
his  garden  outside  the  city.  Prince  Ting,  a  grandson  of 
Ch’ien  Lung,  was  sent  to  dig  it  up,  whilst  the  Eleventh 
Prince,  with  two  other  Grand  Secretaries,  made  a  thorough 
search  of  all  the  victim’s  city  residences.  The  Court  was 
hot  on  the  scent  for  loot. 

Eight  days  later  the  treasure-hunters  sent  in  their 
report.  Ho  Shen’s  property  was  classified  under  109 
schedules,  26  of  which  showed  a  total  value  of  223  millions 
of  taels  (roughly  at  that  time,  70  millions  sterling).  These 
figures,  the  result  of  an  official  valuation,  were  quoted 
in  an  Imperial  decree,  and  may  be  regarded  as  approxi¬ 
mately  correct.  His  entire  estate,  roughly  calculated  on 
the  same  basis,  must  have  been  worth  about  900  millions 
of  taels.  The  bullion  confiscated  was  handed  over  to  the 

364 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


Board  of  Revenue,  ostensibly  for  the  campaign  against 
the  rebels  in  Ssu-ch’uan  and  Hupei. 

The  official  inventory,  under  the  first  26  schedules 
of  Ho  Shen’s  estate,  deals  principally  with  his  main 
residence,  which  Chia  Ch’ing,  in  his  disinterested  zeal  for 
the  purity  of  the  State,  presented  to  his  younger  brother, 
Prince  Ch’ing.1  The  gardens  to  the  east  of  it,  adjoining 
the  Lake  of  the  Ten  Pagodas  (Shih  ch’a  hai),  were  given 
to  another  of  his  brothers,  Prince  Ch’eng,  and  until  quite 
recently  belonged  to  his  descendant,  the  “  Beileh  ”  Hsiao. 

The  flower  garden,  presented  to  Ho  Shen  by  Ch’ien 
Lung  himself,  was  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  capital.  It 
contained  sixty-four  pavilions,  some  of  them  decorated 
with  Imperial  yellow  tiles,  and  had  high  towers  at  its  four 
corners,  after  the  design  of  the  Palace  precincts,  which 
was  undoubtedly  inviting  disaster.  In  these  towers  Ho 
Shen  kept  a  considerable  force  of  night  watchmen  under 
arms  to  protect  his  vast  wealth ;  there  were  420  altogether 
in  the  pleasure  garden. 

Ho  Shen’s  wealth  was  indeed  sufficient  to  excite  the 
jealous  cupidity  of  a  small-minded  man  like  Chia  Ch’ing. 
To  be  very  rich  is  always  dangerous  under  an  Oriental 
Court,  but  the  hoarding  instinct  is  usually  stronger  than 
the  fear  of  death  itself  in  a  race  with  which  the  horror 
of  poverty  seems,  through  ages  of  the  fiercest  life-struggle, 
to  have  accumulated  the  blind  force  of  unreasoning 
instinct.  The  manner  in  which  the  Great  Man  invested 
and  concealed  his  riches  was  typical  of  his  class,  and  not 
without  interest  as  illustrating  the  economic  conditions 
then  obtaining.  To-day,  the  much-looted  modern  man¬ 
darin  has  discovered  new  and  safer  means  of  investing 
his  money — in  the  fixed  deposits  of  European  banks  and 

1  The  western  half  of  Ho  Shen’s  residence  is  now  the  property  of  his 
grandson  by  adoption,  the  venal  Prince  Ch’ing,  whose  corrupt  practices 
were  notorious  throughout  the  latter  part  of  the  reign  of  Tzu  Hsi.  The 
eastern  half,  divided  from  it  by  a  street,  is  the  Palace  of  Prince  Hsiao. 

365 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


real  estate  at  the  Treaty  Ports ;  but  until  1900,  the 
methods  adopted  by  Ho  Shen  were  those  common  to  the 
wealthy  official  class. 

According  to  the  26  schedules  above  mentioned,  Ho 
Shen  was  the  owner  of  75  pawnshops,  13  curio-shops, 
two  storehouses  of  white  jade  and  two  of  silk.  In  his 
fur  treasury  there  were  1907  rare  fox  skins  and  67,000 
other  pelts.  He  had  a  separate  storehouse  for  sables 
and  fur  coats,  in  which  were  found  1417  fine  sable  robes 
and  over  4000  other  fur  garments,  together  with  large 
quantities  of  sable-lined  boots  and  hats.  His  wood 
treasury  was  a  building  of  22  rooms,  containing  8640 
pieces  of  the  choicest  woods.  The  contents  of  the  pawnshops 
and  curio-shops  alone  were  valued  at  60  millions  of  taels. 

His  private  residences  were  furnished  with  a  magnificence 
which  the  China  of  to-day  knows  only  by  tradition,  the 
magnificence  of  art  treasures  accumulated  through  long 
centuries,  but  which,  looted  in  successive  rebellions, 
or  sold  by  their  impoverished  owners,  have  gradually 
found  their  way  into  the  hands  of  foreigners  and  left 
the  country  for  ever.  The  list  of  curios  found  in  Ho 
Shen’s  principal  residence  included  amongst  others  the 
following  objects  : 

11  bronze  tripods  of  the  Han  dynasty. 

18  jade  tripods. 

711  antique  ink  slabs  (some  of  the  Sung  dynasty). 

28  Imperial  gongs,  of  jade. 

10  ancient  Japanese  swords. 

38  European  clocks,  inlaid  with  gems. 

140  gold  and  enamel  watches. 

226  pearl  bracelets. 

288  large  rubies,  4070  sapphires. 

10  trees  of  coral,  3  feet  8  inches  high. 

22  statues,  in  white  jade,  representing  the  Goddess 
of  Mercy,  the  Lohans,  etc. 

366 


THE  COURT  OF 


PEKING 


18  solid  gold  Lohans,  2  feet  4  inches  high. 

9000  sceptres  “  Ju-i  ”  of  solid  gold,  each  weighing 
forty-eight  ounces. 

507  jade  sceptres,  several  of  them  engraved  upon  the 
handle  with  original  verses  by  the  Emperor 
Ch’ien  Lung. 

3411  small  jade  sceptres. 

500  pairs  of  chopsticks,  ivory  and  gold. 

A  gold  table  service  of  4288  pieces ;  another 
similar  service  of  silver. 

99  large  soup-bowls  of  topaz;  154  of  jade. 

124  wine  beakers  of  white  jade. 

18  plates  of  jade  and  eighteen  of  topaz,  forty  inches 
in  diameter. 

2390  snuff-bottles  of  jade,  cornelian  and  topaz. 

1  solid  rock  of  jade,  carved  and  engraved  with  poems 
of  the  Ming  Emperor  Yung  Lo  and  His  Majesty 
Ch’ien  Lung,  about  8  feet  long.1 

Even  the  wash-basins,  spittoons,  and  chamber  utensils 
of  the  great  man’s  house  were  of  solid  gold,  or  jade — 
only  a  few  were  of  silver.  Of  small  screens  he  had  23  of 
solid  gold,  and  40  of  gold  and  lacquer;  24  large  lacquer 
screens;  144  couches  decorated  with  gold  work  and 
lacquer,  inlaid  with  gems.  Finally,  in  the  treasury  of  this 
house  alone  and  in  the  garden  caches  they  found  gold 
bars  to  the  value  of  35  million  taels,  besides  28,000  articles 
of  jewellery,  large  and  small.2 

1  This  objet  de  vertu  is  now  in  the  Metropolitan  Museum  at 
New  York;  it  was  taken  from  Tzu  Hsi’s  apartments  at  the  Summer 
Palace  by  an  officer  of  the  allied  forces  in  1900,  and  sold  by  him  to  an 
American  connoisseur  and  diplomat.  The  Old  Buddha  was  very 
fond  of  this  curio,  and  was  much  distressed,  on  her  return  from  exile  to 
Peking  in  January  1902,  to  find  that  it  had  been  looted. 

2  It  is  interesting  to  observe  that  the  valuation  placed  on  Ho  Shen’s 
property  under  these  26  schedules — roughly  a  quarter  of  his  estate — ■ 
taken  at  the  rate  of  exchange  at  that  period,  would  suffice  to  pay  off 
the  whole  Boxer  indemnity. 


367 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


Small  wonder  if  the  Court  officials  were  zealous  in  the 
work  of  compiling  these  interesting  schedules,  and  small 
wonder  if  His  Majesty  Chia  Ch’ing  placed  his  own  brothers 
(under  the  watchful  eyes  of  Grand  Secretaries)  to  make  a 
full  record  of  such  splendid  plunder.  Once  the  work  of 
the  Imperial  looters  had  been  done,  His  Majesty  depre¬ 
cated  any  further  references  to  the  matter,  or  to  the 
ultimate  disposal  of  Ho  Shen’s  property.  Nevertheless, 
some  four  months  after  his  death,  a  certain  Lieutenant- 
General  of  a  Banner  Corps,  named  Sa,  ventured  to 
memorialise,  saying  that  a  good  deal  of  leakage  had 
occurred  in  compiling  the  official  returns  of  the  various 
properties,  that  there  was  still  much  treasure  hidden,  and 
that  a  good  deal  more  had  found  its  way,  as  hush  money, 
into  the  pockets  of  the  Imperial  Commissioners  who 
“  tried  the  case.”  To  this  the  Emperor  replied  in  an 
edict,  assuring  the  memorialist  that  he  must  be  mis¬ 
taken  (Chia  Ch’ing  had  no  intention  of  muzzling  the  ox 
that  trod  out  such  good  corn).  Once  more  the  tactless 
Bannerman  returned  to  the  charge,  evidently  hoping 
to  be  well  rewarded  for  his  zeal.  He  declared  that  Ho 
Shen’s  treasury  accounts  had  been  in  the  hands  of  four 
female  secretaries,  and  that  a  cross-examination  of  these 
women  would  bring  many  things  to  light.  But  Chia 
Ch’ing  needed  no  further  light  on  this  subject.  His  decree 
rebuking  the  unfortunate  Sa  is  interesting  reading.  The 
following  is  taken  from  its  concluding  paragraphs  : 

“  Yesterday  We  appointed  Prince  Ch’eng,  in  company 
with  the  memorialist,  to  summon  the  four  female  secre¬ 
taries  to  an  investigation,  so  as  to  clear  up  the  matter  at 
once.  The  result  is,  as  We  expected,  that  they  all  deny 
the  existence  of  any  more  treasure.  Our  original  surmise 
as  to  the  completely  fictitious  nature  of  Sa  Pin-tu’s 
information  has  thus  been  amply  justified. 

“  None  of  the  Princes  or  Ministers  have  ever  suggested 
in  Our  presence  that  portions  of  Ho  Shen’s  hoard  had 

368 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


been  secreted  or  removed.  It  was  left  for  Sa  Pin-tu  to 
deliver  himself  of  these  wild  surmises,  which  clearly 
indicate  his  belief  that  We  are  animated  by  avaricious 
motives,  and  that  We  desire  to  accumulate  vast  wealth 
during  Our  reign.  In  his  folly  he  has  imagined  that  he 
would  greatly  interest  and  please  Us  with  his  stories  about 
further  hoards  of  treasure  to  be  found. 

“  Nov/  be  it  known  that  the  only  object  in  confiscating 
a  Minister’s  property  is  to  provide  a  solemn  warning  for 
the  guidance  of  grasping  officials.  There  is  not  the 
faintest  idea  of  Our  starting  a  wholesale  proscription,  so 
as  to  divert  other  ill-gotten  gains  into  the  Imperial  coffers. 
The  actual  amount  of  Ho  Shen’s  treasure  is  a  matter  of 
supreme  indifference  to  Us;  We  are  concerned  only  to 
vindicate  the  principle  of  official  honesty.  Even  sup¬ 
posing  for  a  moment  that  much  of  Ho  Shen’s  property 
still  remains  unaccounted  for,  and  has  been  wrongfully 
diverted  to  the  possession  of  other  private  persons,  We 
would  make  the  obvious  retort  that  its  hiding-place 
cannot  be  very  distant  and  that,  no  matter  who  has 
acquired  it,  it  remains  accessible  if  need  be.  Its  present 
owners  cannot  conceal  it  indefinitely  nor  spirit  it  away.1 

“  Why,  then,  should  We  trouble  ourselves  about  making 
too  meticulous  an  inventory,  or  permit  further  ramifica¬ 
tion  of  this  inquiry,  which  would  convey  an  impression  of 
covetous  extortion?” 

So  Ho  Shen  died,  because  of  his  great  wealth,  and  all 
his  treasure  was  scattered.  Chia  Ch’ing  did  his  work 
thoroughly.  A  month  after  the  proscription  and  punish¬ 
ment  of  the  deceased  Minister’s  family,  when  he  was  busy 
with  the  counting  of  the  spoils,  one  of  his  brothers,  Prince 
Ting,2  discovered  another  magnificent  Court  necklace  of 

1  The  meaning  of  this  was  plain;  it  conveyed  an  indirect  intimation 
to  those  concerned,  that  His  Majesty  had  his  suspicions  concerning 
the  division  of  the  spoils  and  that  he  wanted  a  larger  share  of  the 
bullion,  which  was  forthcoming. 

2  Eldest  grandson  of  Ch’ien  Lung. 

bb  369 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


pearls  of  which  no  mention  had  been  made  in  the  cross- 
examination  of  Ho  Shen.  It  was  his  favourite  and  par¬ 
ticular  treasure,  the  apple  of  his  eye.  Whilst  unable  to 
conceal  his  delight  at  the  find,  Chia  Ch’ing  deals  a  spiteful 
final  blow  at  Ho  Shen’s  son,  his  brother-in-law,  for  not 
having  declared  the  existence  of  this  necklace.  His  edict 
reveals  almost  incredible  depths  of  meanness,  and  may 
fittingly  be  cited  as  the  last  word  in  the  history  of  Ho 
Shen  : 

“  After  the  exposure  of  Ho  Shen’s  abominable  crimes 
and  corrupt  practices,  We  ordered  Prince  Ting  to  make 
a  further  inventory  of  his  property.  Mien  En  now  informs 
Us  that  he  and  his  fellow  Commissioners  have  discovered 
an  Imperial  Court  necklace  of  pearls,  which  he  has  sub¬ 
mitted  for  Our  inspection.  When  contemplating  this 
article  We  are  simply  astounded,  inasmuch  as  a  Court 
necklace  of  pearls  may  only  be  worn  by  an  Emperor,  and 
no  subject  of  the  Throne  is  even  entitled  to  own  one.  If 
it  be  now  suggested  that  Ho  Shen  might  have  intended  to 
present  this  necklace  as  tribute,  Our  reply  is  that  in  that 
case  the  pearls  would  not  have  been  strung  on  dark 
yellow  braid.  We  are  thoroughly  convinced  that  he  had 
retained  it  for  his  own  use. 

“We  therefore  bade  Prince  Ting  institute  inquiries  in 
the  Ho  Shen  household,  several  members  of  which  have 
now  stated  that  although  Ho  Shen  never  wore  this  neck¬ 
lace  by  daylight,  he  would  often  put  it  on  at  night,  when 
no  strangers  were  present,  and  would  then  stand  before 
the  mirror  contemplating  himself  with  evident  satisfac¬ 
tion.  He  would  assume  various  attitudes,  smile  and 
mutter  to  himself,  and  walk  up  and  down  the  apartment, 
assuming  the  gait  of  His  late  Majesty  and  even  imitating 
his  sacred  voice.  His  words  were  generally  indistinct, 
but  the  witnesses  declare  that  they  could  hear  the  word 
‘Chen’  (the  Imperial  ‘We’),  as  if,  indeed,  he  believed 
himself  to  be  the  Emperor. 

370 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


“  It  is,  in  Our  opinion,  perfectly  plain  that  he  enter¬ 
tained  designs  of  usurping  the  Throne.  Had  these  facts 
come  to  Our  knowledge  before  the  18th  day  of  the  1st 
Moon,  We  should  assuredly  have  decreed  Ho  Shen’s 
decapitation,  even  if  We  had  spared  him  the  lingering 
death  and  dismemberment. 

“  However,  he  has  already  been  permitted  to  commit 
suicide,  and  thus  luckily  escaped  the  extreme  penalty  of 
public  execution.  We  do  not,  therefore,  insist  on  his 
corpse  being  hacked  to  pieces. 

“  As  to  his  son,  Fengshenyinte,  the  husband  of  an 
Imperial  Princess,  had  he  known  of  the  existence  of  this 
necklace  and  had  refrained  from  informing  Us,  We  should 
have  ordered  his  dismemberment  as  an  accessory  before 
the  fact.  But  a  most  rigorous  cross-examination  has 
elicited  from  him  naught  but  repeated  denials  of  all  know¬ 
ledge  of  its  existence,  and  of  Our  grace  We  are  pleased 
to  order  that  no  further  investigation  of  the  matter  is 
required.  Nevertheless,  We  cannot  allow  him  to  retain 
his  hereditary  rank,  and  We  therefore  deprive  him  of  his 
ancestral  earldom,  merely  allowing  him  to  hold  brevet 
rank  as  a  Supernumerary  Minister  of  the  Presence.  Prince 
Ting  has  shown  much  energy  in  the  investigation  of  Ho 
Shen’s  property,  and  is  to  be  referred  to  the  Ministry 
concerned  to  determine  a  suitable  reward.” 


371 


CHAPTER  XV 


CHIA  CHTNG:  THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  ^ END 

The  example  and  results  of  Ho  Shen’s  venal  practices, 
and  the  presence  at  the  provincial  capitals  of  many  of 
those  who  had  studied  the  art  of  Government  under  his 
patronage  and  direction,  speedily  produced  unmistakable 
symptoms  of  demoralisation  throughout  the  public  service, 
which,  in  its  turn,  resulted  in  widespread  disaffection 
and  unrest  amongst  the  people.  The  mandarins  who 
administered  the  Government  under  Chia  Ch’ing  were 
conspicuously  inferior,  in  efficiency  and  moral  character, 
to  those  who  had  held  high  offices  under  Ch’ien  Lung.  In 
China,  more  than  in  any  other  country  in  the  world, 
because  of  the  solidity  of  the  patriarchal  traditions  of 
Government,  the  thoughts  and  deeds  of  the  masses  reflect 
in  a  high  degree  the  moral  qualities  of  the  official  class. 
The  Chinese  people  are  like  the  rest  of  humanity  in  that 
they  cannot  be  made  moral  by  Acts  of  Parliament,  or 
wise  by  the  inauguration  of  a  Republic;  but  as  regards 
the  maintenance  of  public  order  and  the  pursuit  of  industry 
in  preference  to  predatory  activities,  they  are  very  greatly 
influenced  by  the  moral  qualities  or  defects  of  those  placed 
in  authority  over  them.  If  Chia  Ch’ing  had  been  a  man 
of  the  same  stamp  as  his  father;  had  he  pursued  and 
despoiled  Ho  Shen  and  other  offenders  from  a  sense  of 
duty  and  for  the  purification  of  the  State,  the  public 
service  would,  no  doubt,  have  recovered  from  the  poison 
of  corruption  and  gross  living  with  which  Ch’ien  Lung,  in 

372 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


his  old  age,  had  allowed  Ho  Shen  to  infect  it.  But,  except 
in  matters  of  personal  revenge  and  covetous  greed, 
Chia  Ch’ing  displayed  neither  initiative  nor  intelligence. 
Grasping,  suspicious  and  thoroughly  insincere,  he  lacked 
the  quality  of  firmness  and  the  sense  of  justice  requisite 
to  make  a  successful  ruler  of  China;  and  his  officials 
faithfully  reflected  their  Sovereign’s  methods  in  their 
administration  of  the  provinces.  As  a  result,  the  spirit 
of  rebellion,  ever  latent  in  the  struggling  mass  of  China’s 
congested  population,  which  manifested  itself  at  the 
beginning  of  his  reign,  continued  to  grow  and  spread,  until 
it  became  a  chronic  ailment  of  the  body  politic  and  an 
unmistakable  indication  of  the  approaching  end  of  the 
Manchu  power.  Officials,  civil  and  military,  whom  Ch’ien 
Lung  would  have  recalled  and  executed  for  their  failure 
to  suppress  local  risings,  were  allowed  by  Chia  Ch’ing  to 
sow  fresh  seeds  of  disaffection,  by  wholesale  and  indis- 
criminating  proscriptions  of  the  wealthy,  wherever  an 
insurrection  afforded  them  some  pretext  for  filling  their 
own  pockets.  And  Chia  Ch’ing  shared  this  plunder,  whilst 
bemoaning  the  evil  destinies  of  his  country  in  platitudinous 
decrees. 

The  insurrection  of  the  White  Lily  society  resulted 
in  the  devastation  of  four  provinces  before  the  new  Em¬ 
peror,  after  eight  years  of  anxious  struggle,  felt  himself 
secure  upon  the  Throne.  It  eventually  subsided  in  1807, 
after  wholesale  extermination  in  suspected  districts;  but 
in  1812  an  attempt  was  made  upon  the  life  of  the  Emperor 
at  Peking,  which  revealed  the  existence  of  another  wide¬ 
spread  anti-Manchu  organisation,  and  prepared  the 
Government  for  the  serious  outbreak  which  the  “  Heavenly 
Reason  ”  secret  society  was  already  planning  in  Honan. 

The  would-be  assassin  was  a  Manchu,  named  Ch’eng 
Te,  employed  as  cook  to  the  Imperial  Household.  Waiting 
for  the  Emperor  on  his  way  to  the  Summer  Palace,  he 
suddenly  rushed  towards  the  palanquin,  sword  in  hand. 

373 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


The  bearers,  seeing  him,  dropped  the  sedan  and  fled,  the 
bodyguard  seemed  paralysed  with  fear,  and  the  terrified 
Monarch  collapsed  in  a  fainting  condition.  He  would 
undoubtedly  have  been  slain  had  it  not  been  for  an  officer 
of  the  guard,  who  galloped  to  his  side  just  in  time  to  over¬ 
power  his  assailant. 

Chia  Ch’ing,  suspecting  that  the  assassin  had  been 
hired  by  kinsmen  of  the  late  Grand  Secretary,  Ho  Shen, 
had  him  examined  with  every  refinement  of  lingering 
torture,  but  could  extract  nothing  from  him  to  prove  the 
existence  of  an  organised  plot.  All  the  man  would  say 
was  :  “  If  my  plans  had  succeeded  none  of  you  would  be 
where  you  are  now.”  He  was  finally  put  to  death  by  the 
slow  slicing  process,  after  his  two  sons  had  been  beheaded 
before  his  eyes. 

The  annals  of  the  dynasty  contain  no  explanation  of 
this  attempt  on  the  life  of  the  Emperor;  nevertheless, 
there  is  evidence  to  show  that  Ch’eng  Te  was  one  of  a 
band  of  conspirators  who,  in  the  following  year,  made  a 
determined  attempt  to  seize  the  Palace  and  to  overthrow 
the  dynasty.  The  facts  were  made  known  to  the  Governor 
of  Shantung,  through  a  report  forwarded  to  him  by  the 
District  Magistrate  of  that  province,  who  had  arrested 
one  of  the  leaders  of  the  conspiracy,  and  elicited  from  him 
the  information  that  the  man  Ch’eng  Te  had  been  a 
member  of  his  band.  The  Governor  thought  it  best  to 
preserve  a  discreet  silence  on  this  matter,  lest  Chia  Ch’ing 
should  punish  him  for  not  having  discovered  and  nipped 
the  conspiracy  in  the  bud.  It  was  undoubtedly  organised 
by  some  of  Ho  Shen’s  faction,  acting  in  concert  with  the 
anti-dynastic  societies  in  the  provinces. 

It  was  on  the  15th  day  of  the  9th  Moon  in  the  year  1813 
that  a  considerable  force  of  armed  men  suddenly  forced 
their  way  into  the  Palace,  and  for  a  time  actually  held 
its  gates.  Their  plans  for  gaining  access  to  the  Forbidden 
City  were  well  laid,  but,  as  usually  happens  with  Chinese 

374 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


risings,  they  had  no  capable  leader,  and  once  inside  the 
Imperial  precincts  there  was  no  definite  plan  of  concerted 
attack.  Chia  Ch’ing  was  absent  at  the  time,  on  his  way 
to  perform  sacrifice  at  his  father’s  tomb.  His  subsequent 
decree  on  the  subject  states  the  main  facts  accurately 
enough,  as  follows  : 

“  Without  warning,  at  noon  of  the  15th  day  of  the  9th 
Moon,  a  band  of  rebels  dared  to  enter  the  Palace  by  the 
Gate  of  Azure  Thunder,  where  they  were  successfully 
stopped  by  eunuchs.  An  hour  later  another  party 
climbed  over  the  inner  wall  of  the  Forbidden  City  and 
entered  the  Palace,  where  my  son,  Mien  Ning,1  was  at  his 
studies.  Seeing  that  the  situation  was  dangerous  the 
Prince  picked  up  a  fowling-piece  and  drew  his  sword.  He 
picked  off  the  rebel  leader,  who,  with  a  white  flag  in  his 
hand,  was  directing  operations.  My  son  pleads  guilty 
to  rash  presumption  in  having  fired,  but  adds  that  the 
situation  was  desperate.  He  acted  with  true  courage 
and  commonsense,  most  remarkable  in  a  young  Prince 
still  engaged  in  his  studies.2  No  sooner  had  the  alarm 
been  given  than  he  rushed  out  and  killed  two  more  rebels, 
and  by  his  prompt  action  caused  the  band  to  scatter  in 
alarm.  In  spite  of  this,  my  son  apologises  for  his  pre¬ 
sumption  in  words  which  display  admirable  good  taste 
and  modesty.  I  can  hardly  guide  my  pencil  as  I  write, 
for  my  eyes  are  blurred  with  tears,  so  deep  is  the  gratifica¬ 
tion  which  I  feel  at  his  conduct.  The  sacred  enclosure 
of  the  Forbidden  City  contains  the  spirit  tablets  of  my 
ancestors  and  of  my  late  father,  and  the  Empress  Consort 
is  living  there  now.  My  son  has  bravely  defended  its 
sanctity  and  has  acquitted  himself  with  rare  loyalty  and 
filial  duty.  I  confer  upon  him  the  title  of  Prince  of  the 

1  Who  subsequently  reigned  as  the  Emperor  Tao  Kuang. 

2  The  Prince  was  then  thirty-one  years  of  age.  Chia  Ch’ing  kept  him 
and  his  brothers  in  tutelage  much  longer  than  was  usual,  warned  by  the 
example  of  K’ang  Hsi’s  rebellious  family.  Though  married  at  the  age 
of  fourteen,  he  did  not  set  up  an  independent  establishment  till  1816. 

375 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


First  Order,  with  the  title  of  4  Wise,’  and  double  his 
emoluments,  raising  them  to  T.  12,000  per  annum.  My 
third  son,  Mien  K’ai,  deserves  praise  also  for  the  help  he 
rendered.  If  my  Ministers  display  merit  I  reward  them 
as  a  matter  of  course.  Naturally,  therefore,  if  my  own 
sons  display  courage  and  loyalty,  I  can  hardly  refrain  from 
suitably  recognising  their  deserts.  This  is  only  common 
fairness,  and  I  trust  that  my  Ministers  will  realise  this 
and  be  inspired  to  equal  bravery. 

44  A  further  memorial  from  my  brother,  Prince  Yi,  and 
others  reports  that  the  attack  was  suppressed  by  3  p.m., 
the  number  of  rebels  taken  alive  being  altogether  two 
hundred.  I  would  observe,  however,  that  the  list  of  their 
names  only  mentions  thirty-one  persons,  and  I  should 
be  glad  to  know  what  has  become  of  the  other  hundred 
and  sixty-nine.  This  memorial  is  sadly  lacking  in 
lucidity. 

44  My  brother,  Prince  Ch’eng,  after  cross-examining 
several  rebels,  learns  that  there  is  still  a  band  of  some  five 
hundred  of  them  outside  the  Imperial  City,  but  he  does 
not  state  whether  these  took  any  part  in  the  disturbances 
or  how  their  presence  came  to  be  revealed.  I  desire 
information  on  this  matter.  On  the  occasion  of  so  sudden 
an  irruption  of  desperadoes,  who  have  dared  to  enter  the 
sacred  precincts  and  lurk  in  the  Imperial  kitchen,  the 
Princes  and  Ministers  have  shown  remarkable  courage. 
Those  who  made  arrests  in  the  inner  enclosure  of  the 
Palace  deserve  the  highest  praise;  next  in  merit  are  the 
defenders  of  the  outer  precincts.  In  the  bestowal  of 
rewards  and  honours  those  who  were  slain  in  repelling 
the  attack  are  to  be  included  under  the  first  class;  the 
severely  wounded  under  the  second  class,  and  those 
slightly  wounded  under  the  third  class.  All  names  must 
be  given  irrespective  of  rank,  and  no  favouritism  shown. 
Upon  my  arrival,  my  second  son  is  to  meet  me  inside  the 
gate  of  the  Palace,  and  to  prostrate  himself  in  obeisance 

376 


Submission  of  the  Tungus  Tribes. 

( From  the  Imperial  collection  of  pictures  commemorating  the  victorious  campaigns  of  H.M.  Ch'ien  Lung  in  Sungaria.) 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


for  the  honour  I  have  bestowed  upon  him.  He  is  excused 
from  awaiting  the  cortege  outside  the  city.” 

Chia  Ch’ing  countermanded  his  visit  to  the  tombs  and 
hurried  back  to  Peking.  In  the  course  of  a  characteristic 
penitential  decree  he  made  the  following  remarks  on  the 
causes  of  national  demoralisation  : 

“  My  dynasty  has  now  ruled  over  this  Empire  for  one 
hundred  and  seventy  years ;  my  glorious  predecessors  have, 
each  in  his  turn,  displayed  a  bountiful  affection  for  their 
subjects,  treating  them  ever  as  beloved  children.  No  pen 
can  describe  their  sage  virtue  and  justice.  Although  I  may 
have  failed  in  reaching  their  standard  of  perfection  I  have 
not  been  a  cruel  or  grasping  ruler.  This  sudden  disaster  is 
quite  inexplicable  to  me ;  it  is,  I  suppose,  a  proof  of  my 
own  scanty  merit  and  a  punishment  for  my  many  offences. 
The  revolution  broke  out  suddenly,  but  it  must  have  been 
long  in  preparation.  The  besetting  sin  amongst  my 
officials  may  be  summed  up  in  two  words  :  ‘  Incurable 
procrastination.’  I  keep  warning  you  all  till  my  lips  are 
sore  and  my  tongue  is  dry,  but  you  take  no  notice,  and 
continue  to  govern  in  the  old  casual  way.  Because  of 
this  a  calamity  has  befallen  us,  unparalleled  under  this 
or  any  other  dynasty,  infinitely  worse  than  the  episode 
which  occurred  under  the  Mings,  when  a  man  armed  with 
a  cudgel  made  an  attempt  on  the  life  of  the  Heir  Apparent 
of  Wan  Li.1  I  cannot  bear  to  speak  of  this  thing  any 
more.  All  I  can  do  is  to  repent  me  of  my  errors  and  to 
purify  my  heart,  in  order,  on  the  one  hand,  to  show  my 
gratitude  to  high  Heaven  and,  on  the  other,  to  lessen  my 
subjects’  disaffection  towards  their  ruler. 

44  If  you,  my  officials,  desire  truly  and  loyally  to  serve 
my  great  Manchu  dynasty,  then  must  you  become  as 
little  children  and  toil  zealously  for  the  State,  in  order  to 
redeem  my  errors  and  to  reform  the  habits  of  the  people. 
If,  however,  it  please  you  better  to  remain  sunken  in 

1  Vide  supra,  p.  48. 

377 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


degeneracy,  then  you  had  better  hang  up  your  official 
hats  and  seek  refuge  in  retirement  for  the  remainder  of  this 
existence.  Cease  from  placidly  accepting  the  emoluments 
and  sweets  of  office,  like  the  mourner  who  takes  the  place 
of  the  corpse  and  presides  at  the  funeral  feast,  in  dignified 
nonchalance,  for  thus  you  will  only  enhance  your  Emperor’s 
guilt.  I  have  written  so  far,  but  tears  gush  forth  and 
blot  the  paper.  Let  this  be  made  known  everywhere.” 

The  name  of  the  leading  conspirator  was  Lin  Ch’ing, 
whose  influence  over  his  numerous  adherents  of  the 
Heavenly  Principles  Society  seems  to  have  been  (like 
that  of  the  Boxer  leaders  in  1900)  largely  mystical  and 
religious.  His  avowed  aim  was  the  foundation  of  a  new 
dynasty,  with  himself  as  the  Heaven-sent  ruler  of  China. 
Preparations  were  being  made  for  a  general  rising  on  the 
15th  day  of  the  intercalary  8th  Moon,1  but  the  plot  was 
discovered,  in  April  1812,  by  the  Manchu  Prefect  at  Tamsui 
in  Formosa,  who  happened  to  arrest  one  of  its  moving 
spirits,  engaged  there  in  spreading  anti-dynastic  sedition. 
This  man  disclosed  the  aims  of  the  secret  society,  and  named 
Lin  Ch’ing  as  its  leader.  The  Prefect  informed  the 
Governor  of  the  conspiracy,  but  the  Governor  took  no 
steps  to  warn  Peking,  for  fear  of  getting  into  trouble 
himself. 

On  the  day  before  the  attack  on  the  Palace,  a  Police 
Inspector  at  Lu  K’ou-ch’iao,  six  miles  south-west  of 
Peking,  sent  an  urgent  message  to  the  Governor  of  the 
city  informing  him  that  Lin  Ch’ing  had  given  orders  to  his 
men  to  enter  the  capital  next  morning.  Again,  the 
Governor,  fearing  to  be  the  bearer  of  alarmist  news,  took 
no  action  in  the  matter. 

As  the  result  of  the  investigation  held  and  the  evidence 
of  the  prisoners,  it  transpired  that  several  of  the  Palace 
eunuchs  had  taken  part  in  the  conspiracy.  Chia  Ch’ing’s 

1  Intercalary  8th  Moons  seem  to  be  especially  selected  by  the 
astrologers  of  secret  societies  for  the  outbreak  of  rebellions. 

378 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


decree  on  the  subject  is  interesting,  inasmuch  as  it  reveals 
the  increasing  demoralisation  of  the  Imperial  Household. 
It  reads  as  follows  : 

“  Before  the  attack  on  the  Palace  certain  seditious 
characters  had  been  arrested  in  Shantung  and  Honan 
on  charges  of  murdering  officials.  They  confessed  under 
examination  that  they  belonged  to  the  Heavenly  Prin¬ 
ciples  Society,  and  that  their  leader,  Lin,  was  hiding  in 
Peking.  I  was  about  to  give  orders  for  his  arrest,  when 
the  Forbidden  City  was  invaded  by  armed  rebels,  all  of 
whom  have  been  captured.  It  was  learned  that  their 
leader,  the  aforesaid  Lin  Ch’ing,  was  in  hiding  at  a  village 
near  Peking,  and  his  capture  was  effected.  He  admits 
that  he  was  the  originator  and  organiser  of  the  con¬ 
spiracy.  He  propagated  treasonable  doctrines  and 
planned  to  have  me  assassinated;  his  guilt  is  heinous  in 
the  extreme.  I  am  deeply  grateful  to  the  protection  of 
Heaven  and  of  my  ancestors  for  frustrating  his  designs, 
and  command  that  he  be  punished  with  the  utmost  rigour 
of  the  law.  I  am  greatly  astounded  to  learn  that  several 
eunuchs,  Lin  Te-ts’ai  and  others,  belonged  to  this  heretic 
sect.  That  minions  in  the  service  of  the  Palace  should 
dare  to  join  a  society  so  pernicious  and  abet  its  treasonable 
designs  by  opening  the  Palace  gates  to  the  rebels,  reveals 
an  unprecedented  degree  of  guilt.  The  eunuchs  under 
arrest  must  be  examined  separately  under  torture,  and 
the  whole  truth  extracted,  without  evasions  or  false 
witness.  These  guilty  eunuchs  must  all  be  sentenced  to 
dismemberment,  of  course,  and  their  families  will  share 
their  fate.  The  eunuch  ringleader,  Lin  Te-ts’ai,  is  to  be 
held  until  my  return  to  the  Palace,  when  I  shall  examine 
him  myself,  together  with  his  chief  accomplice.  When 
I  have  rigorously  cross-examined  them,  they  will  be  duly 
punished  by  the  lingering  death.” 

On  the  following  morning  Chia  Ch’ing  re-entered 
Peking,  taking  the  opportunity  of  exhibiting  himself  to 

379 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


the  people  by  riding  on  horseback  instead  of  being  borne 
in  the  Imperial  palanquin.  He  immediately  set  himself 
to  the  congenial  task  .of  examining  the  culprits  under 
torture.  The  names  of  other  ringleaders  were  revealed 
and  the  objects  of  the  society,  which  was  frankly  anti- 
Manchu,  disclosed.  It  was  originally  called  the  Eight 
Diagrams  Sect,  and  had  a  great  number  of  adherents  in 
the  northern  provinces.  In  some  respects  its  methods 
and  ritual  resembled  those  of  the  Boxers  of  1900. 

After  ordering  the  dismemberment  of  the  leading 
criminals,  the  Emperor  recorded  his  further  views  on  the 
eunuch  question,  as  follows  : 

“  I  have  personally  examined  the  guilty  eunuchs,  who 
assure  me  that  they  had  no  accomplices  in  their  crimes. 
There  are  seven  of  them  in  all.  There  are  several  grades 
of  eunuchs;  all  those  in  attendance  on  my  person  are 
extremely  well  behaved.  These  who  are  now  under 
sentence  have  only  been  employed  about  the  Palace  in 
the  humblest  duties  and  have  never  had  access  to  my 
presence.  Their  names  are  unknown  to  me  and  they  have 
never  formed  part  of  my  suite  at  the  Summer  Palace. 
Nevertheless,  the  Chief  Eunuchs  are  greatly  to  blame  for 
not  exercising  a  more  vigilant  control.  When  I  asked 
the  culprits  why  they  had  plotted  treason,  all  hung  their 
heads  and  were  silent.  Then  I  asked  whether  I  had  ever 
ill-treated  them,  to  which  they  replied  :  ‘  Your  divine 
bounty  is  limitless,  how  could  we  harbour  any  ill-feelings 
against  you?’  They  kept  on  saying:  ‘Lord  Buddha,’ 
(meaning  me),  ‘  save  us.’  It  is,  indeed,  sad  that  they 
should  have  allowed  themselves  to  be  corrupted  by  evil 
influences  outside  the  Palace.  In  future  no  eunuchs 
are  to  be  allowed  outside  except  for  a  limited  number  of 
hours,  and  in  no  case  except  in  groups  of  three  or  four. 
By  this  means  I  hope  to  prevent  subterranean  intrigue 
and  visits  to  the  residences  of  officials.  I  am  glad  to  think 
that  the  guilt  of  these  owl-like  monsters  is  confined  to  a 

380 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


very  few.  The  other  eunuchs  ought  to  be  grateful  for 
their  master’s  bounty  and  refrain  from  harbouring  un¬ 
worthy  fears  and  suspicions.  I  shall  never  punish  the 
innocent.  Let  this  decree  be  inserted  in  my  Palace 
annals. 

“  The  6th  day  of  next  Moon  is  the  anniversary  of  my 
birth,  but  I  have  lost  face  by  recent  events  and  have  now 
no  heart  to  receive  congratulations.  Rebellions  are 
raging  and  seditious  sects  flourish;  what  heart  could  I 
have  for  revelry?  It  would  be  the  shadow  without  the 
substance.  It  has  been  your  custom  to  present  me  with 
jade  sceptres  of  good  luck,  which  I  have  invariably 
returned  to  the  donors.  The  recent  conspiracy  certainly 
does  not  denote  4  good  luck,’  and  I  beg  that  my  officials 
will  offer  me  no  more  such  4  luck  ’  tokens.  I  grieve  to 
think  that  you  still  desire  to  celebrate  my  birthday,  but 
feel  that  I  must  sanction  your  request.  In  the  mean¬ 
while,  I  hope  that  each  of  you  will  commune  with  his 
heart  in  the  night  watches,  asking  himself  what  manner 
of  man  he  desires  to  become,  and  what  ambitions  he 
cherishes.  Do  not  jeopardise  your  careers  !  I  have  lost 
face  by  these  events  and  am  aweary  of  these  perpetual 
admonitions.” 

[There  is  evidence  in  contemporary  writings  that 
the  Court  was  equally  weary,  and  that  Chia  Ch’ing 
had  by  this  time  written  himself  down  as  a  complete 
failure.] 

The  demoralisation  of  the  Court  and  the  Emperor’s 
lack  of  statesmanship  were  signally  demonstrated  in 
connection  with  the  special  embassy,  under  Lord  Amherst, 
sent  by  Great  Britain  in  the  summer  of  1816,  for  the 
purpose  of  arranging  at  Peking  for  improved  trade 
relations  and  facilities  at  Canton,  where  serious  differences 
had  arisen  between  the  East  India  Company’s  agents  and 
the  Chinese  authorities.  The  history  of  that  mission, 
and  the  reasons  which  led  to  its  failure,  have  been  fully 

381 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


described  in  Ellis’s  Journal  (London,  1817)  and  other 
works.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  breadth  of  vision  which 
led  Ch’ien  Lung  to  dispense  with  the  ceremony  of  the 
kotow  in  the  case  of  Lord  Macartney’s  Embassy  was 
lacking  in  his  ignorant  and  arrogant  successor.  China’s 
military  strength  had  greatly  deteriorated  in  the  twenty 
years  that  had  elapsed  since  Lord  Macartney’s  day,  but 
the  self-sufficient  conceit  of  her  ruling  class  had  increased 
with  their  corruption  and  inefficiency.  The  truth  of  this 
statement  is  sufficiently  revealed  by  Chia  Ch’ing’s  edicts 
in  regard  to  Lord  Amherst’s  mission. 

In  the  7th  Moon  (end  of  August)  1816,  the  official 
Chinese  point  of  view  was  thus  recorded  in  an  Imperial 
decree  : 

“  Imperial  mandate  to  the  King  of  England  :  Whereas 
your  country,  though  lying  far  beyond  the  wide  seas, 
was  sincerely  desirous  of  attaining  the  blessings  of  civilisa¬ 
tion,  in  the  fifty-eighth  year  of  Ch’ien  Lung,  when  my 
sainted  father  was  on  the  Throne,  you  sent  a  special 
mission  to  pay  homage.  At  that  time  your  Ambassador 
performed  the  ceremony  required  of  him  with  the  greatest 
respect  and  committed  no  breach  of  decorum  or  etiquette.1 
It  was  his  high  privilege,  therefore,  reverently  to  receive 
the  gracious  kindness  of  His  late  Majesty.  He  was  ad¬ 
mitted  into  his  presence  and  was  given  a  banquet  and 
many  presents. 

“You  have  now  sent  another  mission  bearing  a  memorial 
and  offerings  of  your  produce.  Your  respectful  homage 
has  met  with  my  appreciation,  and  I  was  glad  of  the  coming 
of  your  mission.  I  examined  into  the  details  of  the  cere¬ 
monial  adopted  on  the  previous  occasion,  and  bade  my 
Court  arrange  for  your  Envoy’s  reception  by  myself, 

1  This  is  a  deliberate  perversion  of  the  facts.  The  ceremony  of  the 
kotow  was  definitely  waived  by  Ch’ien  Lung  after  repeated,  but  futile, 
attempts  on  the  part  of  his  Ministers  to  induce  Lord  Macartney  to 
perform  it. 


382 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


and  to  provide  a  banquet  and  presents,  in  exact  accordance 
with  the  ceremonial  prescribed  by  His  late  Majesty.  On 
the  mission’s  arrival  at  Tientsin,  I  ordered  that  a  banquet 
should  be  given  there  in  my  name.  To  my  great  surprise 
your  Ambassador,  on  returning  thanks,  failed  to  conform 
with  the  prescribed  etiquette.  Nevertheless,  I  bore  in 
mind  that  a  lowly  official  of  a  distant  nation  could  hardly 
be  expected  to  show  familiarity  with  our  ceremonial 
usage,  and  I  was  pleased  to  pardon  his  remissness. 

“  I  commanded  my  officials  to  inform  your  Envoy,  on 
his  approaching  the  metropolis,  that  his  predecessor,  your 
former  Ambassador,  in  the  fifty-eighth  year  of  Ch’ien 
Lung,  did  duly  perform  the  whole  prescribed  ceremony, 
including  the  genuflexion  and  kotow.  How,  then,  could 
any  deviation  from  this  course  be  permitted  on  the  present 
occasion?  Your  Envoy  replied  to  my  Minister  that  he 
would  certainly  perform  both  genuflexion  and  kotow  at 
the  time  of  his  audience,  and  promised  that  there  should 
be  no  violation  of  etiquette.1  My  Ministers  duly  informed 
me,  whereupon  I  issued  a  decree  commanding  your 
Ambassador  to  attend  for  audience  on  the  7th  day  of  the 
7th  Moon.  On  the  8th  day  I  arranged  for  a  banquet  in 
the  Hall  of  Perfect  Rectitude  and  Enlightenment,  when 
the  bestowal  of  presents  was  to  take  place,  after  which  he 
was  to  be  regaled  with  a  further  entertainment  in  the 
Garden  of  Universal  Joy.  On  the  day  following,  the  9th, 
he  was  to  be  received  in  farewell  audience  and  to  be  taken 
over  the  grounds  of  the  Summer  Palace.  On  the  11th 
he  was  to  proceed  to  the  gate  of  the  Main  Hall  of  the 
Forbidden  City,  there  to  receive  my  mandate  and  gifts 
for  presentation  to  yourself,  after  which  he  was  to  be 
entertained  at  a  banquet  by  my  Board  of  Ceremonies. 

1  Vide  Ellis's  Journal,  p.  172.  On  the  27th  of  August  a  note  was 
addressed  to  Chia  Ch’ing’s  Ministers,  stating  Lord  Amherst’s  final  and 
irrevocable  determination  not  to  perform  the  kotow,  a  determination 
in  accordance  with  all  his  previous  declarations. 

383 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


On  the  13th  he  was  to  be  ordered  to  take  his 
departure. 

“  My  Minister  informed  your  Ambassador  of  the  dates 
and  details  of  the  above  programme.  On  the  7th,  the 
date  fixed  for  audience,  the  mission  had  reached  my  Palace 
gate,  and  I  was  about  to  take  my  seat  on  the  Imperial 
Throne,  when  your  Chief  Ambassador  suddenly  announced 
that  he  had  been  attacked  by  a  sudden  illness  and  was 
unable  to  move.  Admitting  that  this  might  possibly  be 
the  case,  I  merely  commanded  the  presence  of  the  two 
subordinate  Envoys,  but  they  also  simultaneously  excused 
themselves  on  the  plea  of  sickness.  Such  gross  discourtesy 
is  utterly  unprecedented;  nevertheless,  I  administered  no 
severe  reproof,  but  confined  myself  to  ordering  their 
immediate  departure  from  Peking.  As  the  mission  was 
not  received  in  audience,  your  memorial,  strictly  speaking, 
should  not  have  been  presented,  but  I  remembered  that 
your  country  is  afar  off,  and  that  the  feelings  were  praise¬ 
worthy  which  led  you  to  memorialise  Us  and  send  tribute. 
Your  Envoys  are  alone  to  blame  for  their  gross  breach  of 
respect ;  I  fully  recognise  the  spirit  of  reverent  submission 
which  animated  you.  I  have  consequently  accepted  the 
whole  of  your  tribute,  including  maps,  pictures,  and 
portraits,  and  I  duly  acknowledge  your  devotion.  More¬ 
over,  in  my  turn,  I  confer  upon  you  a  white  jade  and  a 
green  jade  sceptre,  a  Court  necklace,  two  pairs  of  large 
pouches  to  be  worn  at  the  girdle  and  eight  small  ones, 
that  my  bounty  may  be  made  manifest. 

“  You  live  at  such  a  great  distance  from  the  Middle 
Kingdom  that  these  Embassies  must  cause  you  consider¬ 
able  inconvenience.  Your  Envoys,  moreover,  are  wholly 
ignorant  of  Chinese  ceremonial  procedure,  and  the  bicker¬ 
ing  which  follows  their  arrival  is  highly  displeasing  to  my 
ear.  My  dynasty  attaches  no  value  to  products  from 
abroad ;  your  nation’s  cunningly  wrought  and  strange 

384 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


wares  do  not  appeal  to  me  in  the  least,  nor  do  they  interest 
me.  For  the  future,  O  King,  if  you  will  keep  your 
subjects  in  order  and  strengthen  your  national  defences, 
I  shall  hold  you  in  high  esteem,  notwithstanding  your 
remoteness.  Henceforward,  pray  do  not  trouble  to 
dispatch  missions  all  this  distance  ;  they  are  merely  a 
waste  of  time  and  have  their  journey  for  nothing.  If 
you  loyally  accept  our  sovereignty  and  show  dutiful 
submission,  there  is  really  no  need  for  these  yearly 
appearances  at  our  Court  to  prove  that  you  are  indeed  our 
vassal.  We  issue  this  mandate  to  the  end  that  you  may 
perpetually  comply  therewith.” 

England  in  1816  was  busy  with  matters  weightier  even 
than  the  indignities  offered  to  Lord  Amherst’s  Embassy 
and  the  grievances  of  the  East  India  Company  at  Canton, 
but  China  lost  nothing  by  waiting  for  the  day  of  reckoning 
which  the  arrogance  and  bad  faith  of  the  mandarins  had 
now  rendered  inevitable.  It  was  clear  that  the  dignity 
of  Great  Britain  could  not  tolerate  indefinitely  the  ignorant 
presumption  of  the  Chinese,  nor  the  ill-treatment  of  British 
subjects  at  their  hands.  With  the  abolition  of  the  East 
India  Company’s  charter,  seventeen  years  after  Lord 
Amherst’s  ignominious  dismissal  from  Peking,  Lord  Napier 
appeared  at  the  gates  of  Canton;  on  that  day  began  the 
long  and  painful  process  of  disillusion,  which,  through 
bloodshed  and  humiliation,  was  to  convince  the  rulers  of 
China  that  their  attitude  of  complacent  superiority  and 
over-lordship  of  the  world  was  untenable. 

If  the  Emperor  Chia  Ch’ing’s  decrees  on  the  subject  of 
the  Amherst  Mission  are  compared  with  the  British  records 
of  what  actually  occurred  at  Peking,  the  fact  stands  out 
clearly  that  both  the  Emperor  and  the  British  Envoy 
were  deliberately  hoodwinked  and  misled  by  the  Chinese 
and  Manchu  officials  deputed  to  arrange  with  Lord 
Amherst  the  details  of  the  presentation  ceremony.  The 
cc  385 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


purblind  mandarins,  who  had  advised  the  Throne  to  insist 
on  the  performance  of  the  kotow,  were  afraid  to  “  lose 
face  ”  by  having  to  confess  that  they  were  unable  to 
persuade  the  British  Envoy  to  accept  it ;  1  they  therefore 
lied  to  the  Emperor  about  the  Mission’s  attitude,  and  to 
the  Mission  about  the  Emperor’s,  until  at  the  last,  in 
order  to  extricate  themselves,  they  were  compelled  to  get 
rid  of  the  foreigners  at  all  costs.  This  they  did  by  making 
it  appear  that  the  Envoy  had  been  disrespectful  to  His 
Majesty,  and  by  taking  steps  that  the  Mission  should  be 
illtreated  and  insulted. 

Notwithstanding  the  wording  of  his  mandate  to  the 
King  of  England,  Chia  Ch’ing  felt  that  he  had  been  griev¬ 
ously  ill-used,  and  that  by  the  departure  of  the  Mission  he 
had  lost  much  face.  He  proceeded,  therefore,  as  usual,  to 
scold  his  Ministers,  in  the  following  querulous  decree  : 

“  On  the  occasion  of  the  tribute  Mission  from  England 
landing  at  the  port  of  Tientsin,  I  commanded  Su-leng-e 
and  Kuang  Hui  to  give  a  banquet  in  my  name  and  to 
compel  the  members  of  the  Mission  to  return  thanks  for 
the  same  by  the  three  genullexions  and  the  nine  prostra¬ 
tions.  If  these  obeisances  were  duly  performed  the 
Mission  was  to  be  conducted  to  Peking,  but  in  the  event 
of  any  failure  to  observe  the  proper  ceremonial,  or  if  it 
were  clumsily  rehearsed,  the  officials  above  named  were 
to  memorialise  and  await  my  further  commands.  The 
Embassy’s  ships  were  not  to  be  permitted  to  leave,  so 
that  they  might  be  available  to  take  the  Mission  back  by 
the  way  it  had  come. 

“  My  orders  have  been  wilfully  disregarded.  The 
Mission  has  been  allowed  to  come  up  to  Peking,  and  the 
ships  have  taken  their  departure  without  leave  from  me. 

1  Vide  Ellis's  Journal ,  p.  173.  It  is  interesting  at  this  date  to  recall 
the  fact  that  had  it  not  been  for  the  presence  and  firmness  of  Sir 
George  Staunton,  who  had  been  a  member  of  Lord  Macartney’s  suite 
at  Jehol,  Lord  Amherst  would  have  yielded  to  the  Chinese  and  kotowed. 

386 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


Herein  lies  a  gross  dereliction  of  duty  on  the  part  of  these 
two  officials. 

“  Furthermore,  I  commanded  Ho  Shih-t’ai  and  Muk- 
denga  to  proceed  to  T’ungchou,  where  they  were  to  direct 
the  Mission  to  rehearse  the  ceremony.  For  this  I  gave 
them  till  the  6th  day  of  the  7th  Moon,  by  which  time,  if 
the  Mission  had  acquired  proficiency  in  the  requisite 
etiquette,  they  were  to  be  brought  on  to  the  capital ;  if 
not,  the  tribute  Mission  was  to  be  denounced  and  my 
decision  requested  forthwith.  On  the  5th  instant  I 
received  a  vaguely  worded  memorial  from  Ho  Shih-t’ai 
and  his  colleagues,  and  on  the  6th  the  Mission  was  escorted 
into  Peking.  At  1.30  p.m.  on  that  day  I  took  my  seat 
on  the  Throne  in  the  Hall  of  Diligent  Government  and 
summoned  Ho  Shih-t’ai  and  Mukdenga  to  an  audience. 
First  I  inquired  as  to  the  rehearsal  of  the  ceremony  at 
T’ungchou.  Hereupon  the  two  officials  removed  their 
hats  and  with  repeated  kotows  confessed  that  no  rehearsal 
had  taken  place  at  all  !  I  asked  them  why,  this  being  the 
case,  they  had  not  carried  out  my  instructions  and 
denounced  the  Mission  to  the  Throne.  Ho  Shih-t’ai 
answered  :  1  ‘  When  the  audience  takes  place  to-morrow 
I  will  guarantee  that  the  ceremonial  will  be  performed  in 
full.’  For  this  blundering  they  are  responsible,  and  just 
as  much  to  blame  as  the  first  two  officials.  On  the  morning 
of  the  7th  I  partook  of  breakfast,  and  at  6.30  a.m.  issued 
a  decree  saying  I  was  about  to  proceed  to  the  Throne 
Hall,  where  I  would  receive  the  Mission  in  audience.  To 
this  Ho  Shih-t’ai  at  first  replied  :  ‘  The  Mission  is  delayed 
on  the  road ;  so  soon  as  it  reaches  the  Palace  gates  I  will 
inform  Your  Majesty.’  In  a  little  while  he  reported 
further,  saying  :  ‘  The  Chief  Ambassador  has  had  a  severe 
gastric  attack ;  it  will  be  necessary  to  postpone  the 

1  On  the  same  day,  Kuang  Hui  reassured  Lord  Amherst  saying  that 
“  the  affair  was  settled,  and  he  might  be  perfectly  easy.  The  ceremony 
would  not  be  mentioned  again.” 


387 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


audience,  giving  him  time  to  recover.’  At  last  he  reported  : 

‘  The  Ambassador  is  too  sick  to  appear  at  audience  at  all.’ 

“  I  directed  that  the  Ambassador  be  taken  back  to  his 
lodging,  and  supplied  at  once  with  medical  aid,  after  which 
I  desired  the  immediate  attendance  of  the  Deputy  Am¬ 
bassador.  To  this  Ho  Shih-t’ai  replied  that  the  Deputy 
Ambassador  had  also  been  attacked  by  sickness,  and 
that  both  would  attend  together  on  the  Chief  Ambassador’s 
recovery. 

“  China  is  lord  and  sovereign  of  the  world ;  was  it 
possible  for  Us  to  submit  calmly  to  such  a  wanton  display 
of  irreverent  arrogance?  Therefore  I  issued  a  decree, 
commanding  the  expulsion  of  the  Mission  from  China. 
Nevertheless,  I  inflicted  no  punishment  upon  the  Am¬ 
bassadors  ;  I  bade  Kuang  Hui  escort  them  back  to  Canton 
and  see  to  it  that  they  set  sail  from  there.  It  has  only 
now  been  reported  to  me  by  the  Grand  Council  that  the 
Mission  had  had  an  all  night’s  journey  from  T’ungchou  to 
the  ante-chamber  of  the  Imperial  Palace  at  Yuan  Ming- 
yuan,  and  that  the  Ambassador,  whose  Court  dress  had 
not  arrived,  had  strongly  protested  at  the  idea  of  appearing 
before  His  Imperial  Majesty  the  Emperor  in  travelling 
clothes.  Why  did  Ho  Shih-t’ai  not  inform  me  of  these 
facts?  If  it  was  because  he  overlooked  them  at  the 
moment,  he  could  easily  have  asked  for  another  audience 
that  evening  or  the  next  day.  He  did  nothing  of  the 
sort,  and  allowed  me  to  remain  in  ignorance  until  I 
was  proceeding  to  take  my  seat  on  the  Imperial  Throne. 
The  guilt  of  Ho  Shih-t’ai  and  his  colleague  greatly 
exceeds  the  errors  of  the  other  two.  Had  they  informed 
me  of  the  true  state  of  the  case  I  should  have  post¬ 
poned  the  ceremony  to  a  later  date.  I  am  astounded  at 
the  way  in  which  my  stupid  officials  have  mismanaged 
this  business,  and  I  feel  that  I  have  completely  lost  ‘  face  ’ 
in  the  eyes  of  my  Court.  All  I  can  do  is  frankly  to 
acknowledge  my  mistakes. 


388 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


“  I  shall  deal  with  the  four  officials’  punishment 1  after 
the  Board  of  Civil  Office  has  recommended  an  appropriate 
penalty.  In  the  meantime,  I  record  the  facts  for  the 
information  of  my  officials  throughout  the  Empire  and  the 
Mongol  Princes.” 

It  was  months  before  Chia  Ch’ing  recovered  from  this 
loss  of  face. 

1  One  was  deprived  of  his  post  of  Board  President;  another  was 
reduced  from  the  rank  of  Comptroller-General  of  the  Household  to 
that  of  an  official  writer  of  the  eighth  rank.  The  other  two,  highly 
placed  Manchus  both,  were  cashiered. 


389 


CHAPTER  XVI 

TAG  KUANG.  THE  IMPACT  OF  THE  WEST 

When  Chia  Ch’ing  died,  struck  by  lightning,  in  1821, 
he  left  to  his  son,  Tao  Kuang,  an  Empire  from  which  the 
glory  of  his  father’s  reign  had  departed.  No  more  vic¬ 
torious  armies  would  march,  under  Manchu  leaders,  to 
wars  of  conquest  in  Central  Asia.  For  the  future,  China 
was  to  be  harassed  by  rebellions  within  and  by  attacks 
from  without,  but  the  Manchu’s  power  of  ruling  the 
country  was  steadily  waning.  The  canker  worm  of 
effeminacy  had  already  eaten  deep  into  the  heart  of  the 
Manchu  military  organisation;  its  garrisons  in  the  pro¬ 
vinces  were  fast  losing  the  virility  of  Nurhachi’s  days  and 
with  it  the  respect  of  the  Chinese.  In  the  public  service, 
as  we  have  shown,  corruption  and  cowardice  were  rapidly 
doing  their  work  of  demoralisation  :  and  all  the  while, 
new  forces  and  new  foes  were  preparing  to  destroy  the 
splendid  self-sufficiency  of  the  Middle  Kingdom.  Until 
now,  China  had  settled  her  affairs,  and  paid  the  price  of 
her  rulers’  sins,  within  her  own  borders  :  if  she  had  had 
invaders  and  suffered  the  domination  of  aliens,  at  least 
they  had  been  Asiatics,  and  the  sons  of  Han  had  even¬ 
tually  conquered  the  conqueror  by  the  moral  force  of 
their  superior  civilisation.  But  now,  new  conquerors 
were  advancing  who,  in  addition  to  material  strength  of 
a  kind  undreamt  of  in  China’s  star-gazing  philosophy, 
were  to  dispute  even  the  moral  superiority  of  the  Canons 

390 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


of  the  Sages,  and  finally  to  take  from  China  her  great 
inheritance,  her  contempt  for  the  outer  barbarians,  her 
false  pride  and  pinchbeck  supremacy,  fast  set  in  its 
massive  frame  of  complacent  ignorance. 

When  Tao  Kuang  came  to  the  Throne,  in  his  thirty- 
ninth  year,  it  seemed  at  first  as  if  he  might  fulfil  the 
promise  of  courage  and  decision  which  he  had  given  at 
the  time  of  the  rebel  attack  on  the  Palace  in  1813.  As  a 
youth,  he  had  shown  energy  and  much  fondness  for  sports ; 
it  was  recorded  in  the  Palace  annals  that  in  the  year  1790, 
being  then  a  boy  of  nine,1  he  accompanied  his  grandfather 
Ch’ien  Lung  on  a  hunting  trip  to  Jehol  and  so  delighted 
the  Emperor  with  his  skill  at  an  archery  competition  that 
the  aged  monarch  presented  him  with  a  Yellow  Jacket 
and  allowed  him  to  wear  it.  But  the  process  of  degenera¬ 
tion,  at  Peking  and  in  the  provinces,  had  gone  too  far 
to  be  checked  by  the  single-handed  efforts  of  any  Sovereign, 
and  the  men  about  Tao  Kuang’ s  Throne  were  remarkable 
neither  for  virtue  nor  for  statesmanship.  He  reigned, 
tant  bien  que  mal,  for  thirty  years,  but  after  the  first  ten, 
he  displayed  little  energy  in  State  affairs,  gradually 
relegating  them  to  his  two  principal  advisers,  the  Manchu 
Grand  Secretary  Mu  Ch’ang-a  and  the  Imperial  Tutor, 
Tu  Shou-t’ien.  At  the  close  of  his  reign,  when  the  pride 
of  the  Dragon  Throne  had  been  humbled  by  the  British 
barbarians  at  Canton  and  Nanking;  when  the  widespread 
elements  of  unrest  and  discontent  were  about  to  blaze 
out  into  the  great  Taiping  rebellion  (from  which  the 
Manchu  power  would  never  have  emerged  had  not  the 
“barbarians”  upheld  it);  when  the  Empire  was  visibly 
tottering  to  its  ruin — Tao  Kuang’s  mind  was  chiefly 
concerned  with  two  matters,  first :  how  to  keep  down  the 
“  squeezes  ”  of  the  eunuchs  in  his  Imperial  Household 
accounts;  secondly,  how  to  prevent  the  Censorate  from 

1  By  the  Chinese  reckoning  of  age,  which  makes  a  child  a  year  old 
at  birth.  Tao  Kuang  was  born  in  1782. 

391 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


wearying  him  with  their  long-winded  and  futile  denuncia¬ 
tions  of  abuses  which  he  was  powerless  to  check. 

It  was  Tu,  the  Imperial  Tutor,  who  devised  the  method 
for  muzzling  the  Censorate  which  Tao  Kuang  adopted, 
with  results  satisfactory  to  his  own  comfort  but  injurious 
to  the  State.  The  Emperor  had  asked  him  to  suggest  a 
way  of  punishing  a  certain  Censor  who  persisted  in  pro¬ 
pounding  questions  displeasing  to  His  Majesty.  Tu 
replied  :  “  That  is  not  a  difficult  matter.  Whatever  the 
subject  of  the  memorial  may  be,  let  Your  Majesty  issue 
a  decree  finding  fault  with  some  particular  mode  of 
expression  or  error  in  its  wording,  and  order  that  the 
writer  be  handed  over  to  the  Civil  Office  for  the  deter¬ 
mination  of  a  penalty.  The  Censorate  will  realise  that 
if  Your  Majesty  is  not  prepared  to  overlook  trifling  errors 
in  composition  and  caligraphy,  your  displeasure  is  likely 
to  be  seriously  visited  on  those  memorialists  who  venture 
to  deal  with  high  questions  of  State  !  Nobody  will  be  able 
to  suggest  that  Your  Majesty  is  opposed  to  criticism, 
but  in  future  criticism  will  automatically  cease.” 

Tao  Kuang  was  pleased  to  follow  this  advice,  and  in  a 
little  while  the  Censorate  ceased  to  urge  its  views  upon 
the  Emperor.  This  suited  his  chief  advisers,  who  were 
able  to  handle  affairs  in  their  own  way  and  without  daily 
denunciations.  The  Emperor  never  suspected  that  the 
advice  was  given  with  this  motive,  being  himself  of  a 
trusting  and  straightforward  disposition.  When  Tu  died, 
Tao  Kuang  lavished  posthumous  honours  upon  him, 
frankly  confessing  that  his  advice  had  become  more  or 
less  indispensable.  It  was  Tu  who  also  set  the  fashion 
of  “  ploughing  ”  literary  degree  candidates  for  blemishes 
in  caligraphy,  irrespective  of  the  merits  of  their  composi¬ 
tions.  In  this  way  he  degraded  the  standard  of  learning 
and  scholarship  and  with  it  the  general  standard  of 
intelligence  and  efficiency  in  the  public  service. 

As  illustrating  the  tone  of  the  public  service  towards 

392 


The  Camp  at  Alchur. 

( From  the  Imperial  collection  of  pictures  commemorating  the  victorious  campaigns  of  H.M.  Ch'ien  Lung  in  Sungaria.) 


I 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


the  end  of  this  well-meaning  but  unfortunate  monarch’s 
reign,  the  following  verses,  sent  by  an  anonymous  wit  to 
the  Grand  Secretary  Ts’ao  Chen-yung  are  interesting  : 

“  If  you  wish  to  intrigue  successfully  and  to  rise  in  the 
world,  make  you  friends  at  Court,  by  occasional  gifts  of 
money ; 

“  If  you  would  be  reckoned  a  hero,  avoid  all  reference  to 
vexed  questions,  be  noncommittal  and  invariably  humble ; 

“  The  key  to  success  in  a  high  official  is  to  take  things 
easily,  neither  asserting  merit  nor  protesting  loyalty; 

“  In  all  your  duties  be  plausibly  evasive ;  never  criticise 
adversely  and  never  condemn ; 

“  Just  as  in  the  country  a  peaceful  district  enjoys  good 
harvests,  even  so,  an  absence  of  friction  conduces  to 
official  advancement; 

“  In  dealing  with  your  colleagues,  be  yielding  and 
soft-spoken;  cover  up  their  defects,  but  avoid  praising 
their  virtues; 

“  By  so  doing  you  may  comfortably  rise  to  be  a  Grand 
Secretary  :  your  wife  will  receive  a  patent  of  honour  and 
your  son  a  sinecure ; 

“You  will  leave  behind  you  a  fragrant  memory  im¬ 
perishable  ;  and  if  you  are  not  canonised  as  ‘  Learned 
and  Loyal,’  you  will  at  least  go  down  to  history  as 
4  Learned  and  Polite.’  ” 

It  was  the  same  Grand  Secretary  Ts’ao  who,  when 
asked  to  advise  an  aspirant  to  office  on  the  best  means 
of  securing  preferment,  cynically  replied  :  “It  is  really 
quite  simple ;  just  go  on  kotowing,  and  never  commit 
yourself  to  any  final  opinion  on  any  subject.”  Ts’ao 
indulged  in  cynicism  because,  though  he  could  no  nothing 
to  stem  the  tide  of  decadence,  he  himself  was  honest  and 
patriotic,  as  the  times  went.  His  family  made  a  large 
fortune  from  the  salt  trade  of  Anhui,  much  of  which 
escaped  payment  of  the  Government’s  dues;  but  when 
the  Viceroy  of  Nanking,  hard  put  to  it  for  funds,  required 

393 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


to  subdue  the  rebellion,  drew  his  attention  to  these  leakages 
he  replied  :  “  Institute  your  reforms,  by  all  means,  and 
pay  no  heed  to  my  family’s  means  of  livelihood.  I  have 
never  heard  of  a  Grand  Secretary  dying  of  starvation.” 

If  the  annals  speak  truly,  Tao  Kuang’s  most  marked 
characteristic  was  his  housewifely  thrift,  which  in  his  old 
age  verged  on  parsimony.  Although,  like  most  of  his 
house,  he  was  fond  of  the  pleasures  of  the  table,  the  best 
dinner  was  unpalatable  to  him  if  he  thought  that  he  was 
paying  too  much  for  it.  He  had  all  the  frugality  and 
fussiness  which  subsequently  distinguished  the  Empress 
Dowager,  Tzu  Hsi,  but  without  her  genial  bonhomie. 
He  gradually  cut  down  his  domestic  expenditure  in  the 
Palace  to  about  200,000  taels  (say  £60,000)  a  year,  so 
that  the  Secretaries,  Chamberlains  and  eunuchs  of  the 
household  were  hard  put  to  it  to  make  a  bare  living. 
Some  of  their  manoeuvres  were  as  determined  as  the 
Sovereign’s  stinginess.  It  is  recorded  that  on  one  occasion 
His  Majesty  desired  to  have  some  macaroni  soup,  made 
in  a  special  way,  and  gave  orders  accordingly.  Next  day 
the  household  humbly  reported  that  it  would  be  necessary 
to  build  a  special  kitchen  for  the  preparation  of  this  dish 
and  to  place  an  official  in  charge  of  it.  For  this  they 
submitted  estimates  amounting  to  over  600,000  taels, 
as  well  as  a  yearly  expenditure  of  15,000  taels.  The 
Emperor  frowned  :  “  Never  mind  about  it  :  I  know  a 
good  eating-house,  outside  the  Ch’ien  Men,  where  they 
make  this  soup  excellently,  you  can  buy  it  for  forty 
cash  a  bowl.  I  shall  send  a  eunuch  every  day  to  buy 
some  there.” 

A  few  days  later  the  Minister  of  the  household  came 
again  and  reported  that  this  particular  eating-house  had 
closed  its  doors.  The  Emperor  sighed  :  “  I  have  always 
refused  to  waste  a  cash  on  my  food,”  he  said,  “  but  it 
does  seem  hard  that  I,  the  Son  of  Heaven,  cannot  be 
allowed  to  procure  any  little  delicacy  I  want.” 

394 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 

Tao  Kuang  was  not  destined,  as  was  his  son,  to  see 
his  capital  invaded  and  his  Palace  burned  by  the  outer 
barbarians;  but  his  father’s  fatuous  arrogance,  and  his 
own  incapacity  to  realise  the  seriousness  of  the  new 
dangers  that  threatened  his  Empire,  cost  him  and  his 
advisers  a  first  heavy  instalment  of  humiliation  by 
loss  of  territory  and  of  “  face.”  The  events  which  led 
up  to  the  Treaty  of  Nanking  and  the  cession  of  Hongkong 
to  Great  Britain  do  not  come  within  the  scope  of  the 
present  work.  It  may  be  observed,  however,  now  that 
the  opium  question  in  China  has  become  a  question  of 
religious  and  sentimental  polemics  in  England,  that  the 
action  taken  by  the  Viceroy  Lin  at  Canton  in  destroying 
the  British  merchants’  opium  was  due,  not  to  moral 
considerations,  but  to  his  uncompromising  contempt  for 
the  foreigner  and  all  his  works.  Our  first  war  with  China 
has  been  persistently  described  as  an  “  opium  war  ”  by 
persons  vocationally  identified  with  opium  abolition  as  a 
prominent  plank  in  the  missionary  platform ;  nevertheless, 
the  fact  remains,  clearly  demonstrable  to  all  who  are 
not  carried  away  by  their  prejudices,  that  neither  the 
Peking  Government  nor  the  Viceroy  at  Canton  regarded 
the  opium  question  from  any  point  of  view  other  than 
the  political,  fiscal  and  economic.  One  party  at  Peking, 
under  Mu  Ch’ang-a,  was  in  favour  of  legalising  the  drug 
(as  Sir  H.  Pottinger  advised)  just  as  it  was  in  favour  of 
granting  many  other  reasonable  trade  facilities  to  the 
foreigner.  The  other  party,  the  irreconcilable  conser¬ 
vatives  and  chauvinists,  were  all  for  excluding  it,  on 
precisely  the  same  grounds  as  they  opposed  the  opening 
of  new  ports  to  trade.  Lin  Tse-hsii,  the  Viceroy  of 
Canton,  was  the  real  cause  of  the  war,  because  his  attitude 
of  contemptuous  insolence  and  his  methods  of  barbarism 
were  not  such  as  any  self-respecting  nation  could  tolerate. 
The  following  extract  from  a  letter  addressed  directly 
to  Queen  Victoria  by  this  stiff-necked  patriot  of  the 

395 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


old  school,  contains,  in  a  few  lines,  the  whole  pitiful 
tragedy  of  China’s  collapse  before  the  impact  of  the 
West. 

“You  savages  of  the  further  seas  have  waxed  so  bold, 
it  seems,  as  to  defy  and  insult  our  mighty  Empire.  Of  a 
truth  it  is  high  time  for  you  to  4  flay  the  face  and  cleanse 
the  heart,5  and  to  amend  your  ways.  If  you  submit 
humbly  to  the  Celestial  dynasty  and  tender  your  alle¬ 
giance,  it  may  give  you  a  chance  to  purge  yourselves  of 
your  past  sins.  But  if  you  persist  and  continue  in  your 
path  of  obstinate  delusion,  your  three  islands  (sic)  will 
be  laid  waste  and  your  people  pounded  into  mincemeat, 
so  soon  as  the  armies  of  his  Divine  Majesty  set  foot  upon 
your  shores.” 

Lin  addressed  this  dispatch  to  the  Queen  of  England 
in  the  style  which  Chinese  officials  habitually  use  in  ad¬ 
dressing  their  equals,  and  not  in  the  form  of  a  memorial 
to  a  crowned  head.  It  was  not  a  wise  policy  for  one  to 
adopt  who  proposed  to  destroy  the  British  fleets  with 
stinkpots. 

At  Peking,  counsels  were  sharply  divided  between 
making  peace  on  the  terms  demanded  by  the  British  and 
war  d  entrance.  The  rabid  conservatives  were  then,  as 
they  are  to-day  even  in  Young  China,  all  bombast  and 
bravado,  and  they  fiercely  denounced  Mu  Ch’ang-a  and 
his  policy  of  truckling  to  the  barbarians.  There  were 
amongst  them,  as  there  are  to-day,  sincere  patriots  who 
sinned  in  ignorance,  and  there  were  brave  men,  like  the 
Manchu  commander  of  the  Tartar  garrison  at  Chinkiang, 
who  fought  valiantly  and  died  for  their  blind  faith  in  the 
invincible  supremacy  of  the  Middle  Kingdom.  In  the 
beginning  of  1841,  the  Emperor’s  opinions,  after  several 
vacillations,  were  identical  with,  and  probably  inspired, 
those  of  the  Canton  authorities.  In  January  he  issued 
a  decree  (similar  to  those  of  Tzu  Hsi  in  1900),  ordering 
his  faithful  people  to  drive  the  hated  foreigner  into  the 

396 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


sea.  But  within  a  few  months,  after  Chusan  and  Ningpo 
had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  British,  wiser  counsels 
began  to  prevail. 

A  typical  example  of  the  Chinese  patriot  of  those  days 
was  Wang  Ting-lin,  Grand  Secretary  and  Grand  Coun¬ 
cillor.  With  all  the  strength  of  a  masterful  and  sincere 
nature,  he  opposed  Mu  Ch’ang-a’s  peace  policy  and  advo¬ 
cated  war  at  all  costs.  He  impeached  Mu  at  audience, 
comparing  him  to  the  historic  traitor  Ch’in  Kuei  of  the 
Sung  dynasty;1  and  protesting  against  the  signing  of  any 
treaty  of  peace  with  the  barbarians.  He  criticised  severely 
the  Emperor’s  action  in  cashiering  the  Viceroy  Lin  Tse- 
hsii,  and  frankly  expressed  his  opinion  that  Mu  Ch’ang-a 
was  working  for  his  private  ends,  actuated  by  personal 
grudges.  The  Emperor  refused  to  listen  to  him,  and, 
shaking  his  sleeve  in  token  of  dismissal,  rose  from  the 
Throne.  Wang,  moved  to  the  point  where  etiquette  is 
forgotten,  clung  to  the  Emperor’s  robe  and  continued  to 
pour  out  impassioned  words.  Tao  Kuang  looked  away 
and  left  him,  without  reply.  Wang  Ting-lin  thereupon 
went  straightway  to  his  own  house,  indited  a  valedictory 
memorial  impeaching  Mu,  begged  the  Emperor  to  behead 
him  in  order  to  satisfy  the  national  conscience,  and  hanged 
himself. 

So  died  a  sincere  but  misguided  patriot.  But  the 
sequel  was  equally  significant,  illustrating  the  cross¬ 
currents  and  inscrutable  depths  of  life  in  the  Forbidden 
City.  On  the  morning  after  Wang’s  suicide  an  official 
named  Ch’en,  one  of  Mu’s  partisans  and  a  Secretary  of 
the  Grand  Council,  noticed  that  Wang  did  not  appear 
as  usual  for  audience.  As  soon  as  his  routine  duties 
were  ended,  he  hurried  to  Wang’s  house  to  ascertain  the 
cause  of  his  absence.  There,  in  the  main  hall,  he  found 
the  body  still  hanging,  it  being  the  unwritten  law  that 

1  Who  weakly  advocated  making  peace  with  the  Ch’in  Tartars. 
His  statue  is  still  spat  upon  by  the  vulgar  in  the  temple  where  it  stands. 

397 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


when  a  member  of  the  Council  commits  suicide  (no  in¬ 
frequent  penalty  of  greatness  in  China)  the  body  must 
not  be  cut  down  until  the  Emperor  has  been  informed 
and  issued  his  further  orders  in  the  matter. 

Wang’s  son  showed  the  valedictory  memorial  to  Ch’en, 
who  read  it  and  said  :  “  The  Emperor  was  very  angry 
with  His  Excellency  your  father  yesterday.  If  you 
present  this  memorial,  your  father  will  obtain  no  post¬ 
humous  honours  and  your  own  career  will  be  ruined. 
You  had  better  suppress  it.”  A  fellow-provincial  of 
Wang’s,  also  of  Mu’s  party,  came  in  at  this  moment  and 
concurred  in  the  advice  which  Ch’en  had  given.  Wang’s 
family  thereupon  begged  Ch’en  to  indite  and  substitute 
another  memorial;  Ch’en  did  so,  adding  that  Wang  had 
died  suddenly  of  heart  failure.  Tao  Kuang,  greatly 
grieved  and  full  of  remorse  for  what  had  happened,  con¬ 
ferred  high  posthumous  honours  on  his  faithful  servant. 
Afterwards,  when  Ch’en  showed  the  valedictory  memorial 
to  Mu,  he  was  much  startled  and  expressed  deep  gratitude 
for  what  Ch’en  had  done.  His  gratitude  was  genuine  and 
resulted  in  Ch’en’s  rapid  promotion.  In  ten  years  he  rose 
to  be  President  of  a  Board. 

The  Chinese,  firm  believers  in  the  Asiatic  doctrine  which 
visits  the  sins  of  the  father  upon  the  children,  even  unto 
the  third  and  fourth  generation,  point  to  the  fact  that 
Mu  Ch’ang-a’s  descendants  have  fallen  upon  evil  days. 
Mu’s  son  was  a  superintendent  of  the  Imperial  Granaries 
—the  Bannermen’s  Tribute  Rice  Intendency— but  his 
grandson  is  a  well-known  actor  of  more  than  doubtful 
reputation,  who  plays  female  parts  and  is  known  in  the 
tea-houses  by  the  nickname  of  the  “  Virtuous  Young 
Gentleman  ” — a  Chinese  Charmides.  The  moral  sense 
of  the  literati  considers  this  a  fitting  sequel  to  the  career 
of  Mu  Ch’ang-a,  whose  only  proved  offence  was  that  he 
advised  making  peace  with  enemies  whom  he  knew  to 
be  stronger  than  anything  that  China  could  bring  to  bear 

398 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


against  them.  Wang’s  sons  were  greatly  blamed  for 
suppressing  their  father’s  patriotic  memorial. 

The  Treaty  of  Nanking  was  Mu  Ch’ang-a’s  work,  and  it 
served  beyond  all  doubt  to  postpone  for  a  time  the 
appearance  of  a  British  force  at  the  gates  of  Peking. 
After  the  suicide  of  Wang  Ting-lin,  there  was  only  one 
of  the  Grand  Council  who  opposed  Mu’s  policy,  and  this 
in  a  half-hearted  manner. 

When  the  draft  of  the  proposed  Treaty  of  Peace  was 
handed  in  by  Mu,  the  Emperor  took  it  away  with  him 
from  the  Council.  He  spent  the  rest  of  that  day  and 
most  of  the  night  in  pacing  up  and  down  the  corridor 
of  his  Palace,  deep  in  anxious  thought.  Several  times 
he  was  heard  to  mutter  “  impossible  ”  and  to  sigh  deeply. 
At  last,  at  3  a.m.,  he  stamped  his  foot  and  proceeded  to 
the  audience  chamber,  where  he  affixed  the  “  vermilion 
pencil  ”  to  the  draft.  This  done,  he  sealed  it  securely  in 
an  envelope  and  sent  it  by  the  hand  of  a  eunuch  to  the 
office  of  the  Grand  Council.  “  The  Councillors  have  not 
arrived,”  said  the  eunuch,  “  the  Palace  gates  are  still 
closed.”  “Wait  there,”  replied  Tao  Kuang,  “  until  Mu 
Ch’ang-a  arrives.  Give  him  this  envelope  but  don’t  let 
any  one  else  see  it.”  The  document  sanctioned  the  sig¬ 
nature  of  the  Peace  Treaty,  but  it  was  only  with  great 
reluctance  and  bitterness  of  soul  that  Tao  Kuang  accepted 
it.  Such  was  the  effect  of  the  first  serious  impact  of  the 
West  on  the  Dragon  Throne. 

It  was  in  the  summer  of  1840  that  the  British  fleet 
first  blockaded  Canton  and,  sailing  northwards,  seized  the 
island  of  Chusan,  which  led  to  the  degradation  of  Lin 
Tse-hsii  and  to  the  appointment  of  the  Manchu  Ch’i  Shan1 
to  be  Imperial  Commissioner  at  Canton.  It  was  Ch’i 
Shan  who  agreed  to  the  cession  of  Hongkong  (occupied 

1  Commonly  known  in  contemporary  writings  ( vide  Hue’s  Tibet)  as 
Ki  shan  or  Ki  shen  (Boulger).  He  was  the  grandfather  of  Jui  Ch’eng, 
who  surrendered  Wu  Ch’ang  to  the  rebels  in  October  1911. 

399 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


by  the  British  on  26th  January,  1841)  in  exchange  for 
the  rendition  of  Chusan.  This  surrender  so  enraged  Tao 
Kuang,  at  that  time  under  the  influence  of  the  war  party, 
that  he  deprived  Ch’i  Shan  of  his  Grand  Secretaryship 
and  refused  to  recognise  his  negotiations.  The  Throne 
(as  above  stated)  insisted  on  war  to  the  knife  and  the 
extermination  of  the  barbarians.  Ch’i  Shan,  according 
to  the  Chinese  chroniclers,  did  his  best  to  retrieve  the 
situation  by  a  characteristically  Oriental  acte  de  guerre. 
He  sent  privily  to  the  British  Commissioner  (Elliott) 
offering  him  a  beautiful  concubine  and  curios,  in  the 
hope  of  cancelling  his  territorial  negotiations;  but  the 
barbarians  were  not  amenable  to  reason  in  this  form, 
for  they  proceeded  to  bombard  Bocca  Tigris.  It  was  at 
this  stage  that  Ch’i  Shan  memorialised  the  Throne,  frankly 
stating  his  opinion  that  further  fighting  would  only  make 
matters  worse.  “  We  possess  no  impregnable  defences,” 
said  he,  “  and  our  military  equipment  is  utterly  useless. 
Our  troops  are  feeble  and  our  subjects  disloyal.  If  we 
engage  in  hostilities,  disaster  will  overtake  us.  For  the 
present,  wisdom  dictates  the  adoption  of  measures  of 
expediency.” 

Subsequent  events  and  their  results,  as  embodied  in 
the  Treaty  of  Nanking  (August  1842)  justified  Ch’i  Shan. 

Towards  the  end  of  Tao  Kuang’s  reign,  a  great  soldier 
and  statesman  made  his  appearance  on  the  scene,  who 
was  to  achieve  fame  in  years  to  come  and  to  assist  the 
great  Empress  Dowager  Tzu  Hsi  in  restoring,  for  a  time, 
the  prestige  of  the  Manchu  dynasty.  This  was  Tseng 
Kuo-fan.1  Concerning  him  an  interesting  story  is  told 
by  the  Chinese  annalists,  illustrating  the  inveterate  faith 
in  omens,  which  Tao  Kuang  shared  with  all  the  Sovereigns 
of  the  Manchu  dynasty. 

One  night,  greatly  troubled  by  tidings  of  internal 
rebellion  and  the  persistent  truculence  of  the  British, 

1  Vide  China  under  the  Empress  Dowager,  p.  64  et  seq. 

400 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


he  dreamed  that  the  Forbidden  City  was  invaded  by  a 
band  of  ruffians  :  armed  with  staves  and  swords,  they 
pressed  upon  the  Imperial  Throne  and  overturned  it. 
It  seemed  to  him,  in  his  dream,  that  he  stood  there, 
alone,  confronting  the  rebels  and  helpless  to  resist  them. 
He  called  for  help,  but  all  his  attendants  had  fled.  He 
was  just  about  to  fly  from  the  Palace  in  hopeless  shame 
and  confusion,  when  a  man  rushed  forward,  dispersed 
the  rebels,  and  replaced  the  Throne  in  its  former  position. 
The  Emperor,  overjoyed,  was  on  the  point  of  thanking 
his  rescuer,  when  he  awoke.  He  never  spoke  of  this 
dream,  but  often  thought  of  it,  and  his  deliverer’s  features 
were  clearly  impressed  on  his  memory.  Two  years  after¬ 
wards,  when  a  batch  of  newly  elected  Hanlin  doctors  was 
presented  at  Court,  he  recognised  in  one  of  them  the 
hero  of  the  dream.  This  was  Tseng  Kuo-fan,  whose 
rapid  promotion  was  from  that  moment  assured. 

Another  story,  told  by  the  Chinese  to  account  for 
Tseng  Kuo-fan’s  meteoric  advancement,  may,  or  may 
not  be  true,  but  in  any  case  it  throws  some  light  on  the 
relations  existing  between  the  Sovereign  and  his  chief 
advisers  and  on  the  secret  of  Mu  CITang-a’s  great  influence 
at  Court. 

Mu,  knowing  Tseng  Kuo-fan  as  a  member  of  the  Hanlin 
Academy,  had  a  high  opinion  of  his  talents.  One  day 
when  the  Emperor  was  discussing  with  him  the  literary 
ability  of  the  Academicians,  Mu  replied  :  “  There  is 
literary  talent  in  abundance,  but  Tseng  Kuo-fan  is  almost 
the  only  one  worthy  of  high  office.  He  has  remarkable 
knowledge  of  State  affairs  and  never  fails  to  notice  every¬ 
thing.”  Mu  subsequently  told  Tseng  what  he  had  said, 
and  a  few  days  later  there  came  an  order  from  the  Emperor 
for  Tseng  to  attend  for  audience.  He  went  out  to  the 
Summer  Palace  and  was  given  the  menu  for  the  day, 
which  by  prescribed  custom,  officials  received  at  special 
audience  must  take  with  them  to  the  audience  chamber 

401 


DD 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


and  formally  present  to  the  Emperor.  He  was  escorted 
by  a  eunuch  to  a  small  chamber  and  directed  to  await 
the  Imperial  summons. 

The  day  wore  on  to  sunset,  but  no  summons  came.  At 
last  a  message  was  brought,  ordering  him  to  present  himself 
again  on  the  following  morning.  Tseng,  quite  at  a  loss, 
hurried  to  Mu’s  residence,  to  ask  him  the  meaning  of  the 
procedure.  For  a  while  Mu  was  perplexed,  but  suddenly 
a  light  seemed  to  flash  upon  him.  “  Were  there  any 
scrolls  or  books  in  the  room  in  which  you  waited?  ”  he 
asked.  “Yes,  the  walls  were  covered  with  scrolls,  but 
I  was  so  nervous  about  my  audience  that  I  never  noticed 
them.” 

Mu  stamped  his  foot  :  “  That’s  bad,”  said  he.  He  then 
summoned  his  confidential  servant  and  handed  him  a 
bank  note  for  400  taels.  “  Take  that  to  the  Palace  and 
find  out  into  which  room  Tseng  tajen  was  shown  to-day. 
Then  bribe  the  eunuch  in  charge  to  allow  you  to  copy 
every  one  of  the  scrolls  on  the  wall.  Come  back  as  soon 
as  possible.” 

Turning  to  Tseng,  he  said  :  “  You  had  better  stay  here 
to-night ;  we  will  go  to  the  Palace  together  in  the  morning.” 
About  midnight  the  messenger  returned  and  handed  a 
copy  of  the  scrolls  on  the  wall  to  Mu.  They  were  all 
autograph  homilies  by  the  last  three  Emperors,  advice 
on  the  art  of  government  and  admonitions  to  officials. 
They  contained  allusions  to  various  events  and  to  many 
officials  of  the  three  reigns.  Only  a  man  possessed  of 
exceptional  knowledge  of  Chinese  political  history  could 
explain  these  allusions.  His  Majesty  had  wished  to  test 
Tseng’s  abilities  and  to  ascertain  if  Mu’s  commendation 
of  him  was  fully  warranted.  Mu  handed  the  document 
to  Tseng :  “  Study  this  carefully,”  he  said ;  “  you  will  find 
it  a  ladder  to  promotion.” 

Next  day,  when  the  hour  of  audience  arrived,  the 
Emperor  questioned  Tseng  for  nearly  an  hour  concerning 

402 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


the  various  matters  recorded  on  the  scrolls,  and  was 
greatly  pleased  by  Tseng’s  apt  answers. 

Tao  Kuang’s  successor,  his  fourth  son,  who  misgoverned 
the  Empire  under  the  reign-title  of  Hsien  Feng,  was  the 
worst  example  of  debauched  degeneracy  in  the  history 
of  the  dynasty.  Here  again  the  Chinese  chroniclers  tell 
a  tale  which,  if  true,  shows  how  the  wit  of  one  man, 
intelligently  applied  to  things  apparently  trivial,  may 
upset  the  counsels  of  kings  and  affect  the  destinies  of 
millions. 

Towards  the  end  of  his  reign,  Tao  Kuang,  concerned 
as  to  the  succession,  had  practically  decided  to  confer  it 
upon  his  sixth,  and  favourite,  son,  Prince  Ivung,  a  young 
man  infinitely  superior  in  character  and  intelligence  to 
him  who  eventually  became  Heir  to  the  Throne.  It 
happened,  however,  that  the  latter’s  tutor,  Ts’ao  Chen- 
yung,  knew  of  the  Emperor’s  predilection,  and,  naturally, 
desiring  to  enhance  his  own  position,  cast  about  for  some 
means  of  inducing  the  Sovereign  to  change  his  mind  and 
to  confer  the  succession  upon  his  pupil.  In  this  he  was 
successful. 

The  Emperor,  following  the  dynastic  tradition,  had 
given  orders  one  day  that  his  sons  should  go  hunting  in 
the  Southern  Park.  Etiquette  required  that  a  Prince 
who  had  not  completed  his  studies  should  ask  his  tutor 
for  permission  to  absent  himself  for  the  day.  The  fourth 
Prince  therefore  attended  at  the  lecture  room  in  the 
Palace,  and  found  his  tutor  there  alone.  The  Prince  went 
up,  and  making  the  bow  which  ceremony  requires,  asked 
for  leave.  Ts’ao  asked  for  what  purpose,  and  he  an¬ 
swered  :  “  The  Emperor  wishes  me  to  take  a  day’s 

shooting.”  Ts’ao  whispered  to  him  :  “  A-ko,1  take  my 
advice  :  when  you  reach  the  park,  sit  you  and  watch  the 
others  shooting.  Do  not  fire  a  shot,  and  give  orders  to 

1  The  Manchu  word  used  in  addressing  or  speaking  of  Princes, 
meaning  literally  “  Elder  Brother.” 

403 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


your  huntsmen  not  to  set  any  traps.  If  the  Emperor  asks 
you  for  your  reason  for  this,  at  the  end  of  the  day,  tell 
him  that  at  this  spring  season  it  is  not  right  to  take  life, 
because  both  beasts  and  birds  have  their  young  to  take 
care  of,  and  such  slaughter  is  a  violation  of  natural  har¬ 
mony.  Take  care  not  to  quarrel  with  your  brothers  but 
do  not  endeavour  to  emulate  them.  If  you,  A-ko,  will 
only  remember  this,  you  are  certain  to  win  His  Majesty’s 
approval,  for  I  know  his  disposition.  On  this  hinges 
your  whole  future,  either  one  of  glory  or  comparative 
obscurity.  Be  careful;  do  not  forget.” 

The  Prince  carried  out  these  instructions,  and  Prince 
Kung  secured  the  largest  bag.  He  was  elated,  and  seeing 
his  brother’s  beaters  standing  empty-handed  around  him, 
chaffed  him  on  having  taken  no  part  in  the  chase.  He 
then  asked  him  his  reasons  for  not  shooting.  “  Oh,  for 
no  particular  reason.  I  am  not  very  well  and  did  not 
feel  like  violent  exercise.” 

When  the  Princes  returned  in  the  evening,  and  reported 
to  their  father,  only  Hsien  Feng  had  an  empty  bag.  To 
Tao  Kuang’s  questions  he  replied  exactly  as  his  tutor 
had  told  him  to  do.  The  Emperor  was  greatly  delighted, 
and  said  :  “  This  is  the  conduct  of  a  superior  man,”  and 
from  that  day  decided  to  make  him  his  heir. 

In  later  years,  when  Tao  Kuang  had  passed  away,  Hsien 
Feng  raised  his  tutor  to  the  rank  of  Assistant  Grand 
Secretary,  but  he  died  before  attaining  to  still  higher 
honours.  The  Emperor  wept  bitterly  and  proceeded  in 
person  to  offer  a  sacrifice  to  his  remains,  besides  conferring 
upon  him  the  highest  posthumous  honours  given  to  a 
Chinese  during  the  last  century. 

So  Hsien  Feng,  winning  his  father’s  favour  after  the 
manner  of  Jacob,  reigned  in  his  stead  and  hastened  the 
swift  decline  of  the  Manchu  dynasty. 


404 


CHAPTER  XVII 


HSIEN  FENG  AND  T’UNG  CHIH : 

THE  FACILE  DESCENT 

The  inner  history  of  the  Court  and  Government  of 
China,  from  the  accession  of  Hsien  Feng  in  1851  down  to 
the  death  of  the  Empress  Tzu  Hsi  in  1908,  has  already 
been  told  in  China  Under  the  Empress  Dowager.  The 
following  chapters  are  supplementary  to  that  work,  and 
intended  only  to  throw  some  additional  light  on  the  men 
and  chief  events  of  that  period,  and  particularly  on  the  life 
of  the  Court. 

In  the  persons  of  the  two  Emperors,  Hsien  Feng  and 
T’ung  Chih,  father  and  son,  the  tree  of  demoralisation 
brought  forth  its  predestined  fruits,  whose  evil  savour 
was  to  infect  the  Forbidden  City  henceforth  until  the 
passing  of  the  dynasty.  Hsien  Feng  came  to  the  Throne, 
at  the  age  of  nineteen,  a  thoroughly  dissolute  and  depraved 
specimen  of  humanity,  physically  and  morally  con¬ 
temptible.  He  lived  to  see  his  Empire  ravaged  by  the 
Taiping  rebellion  and  preserved  only  by  the  timely  help 
of  the  despised  European.  He  died,  a  fugitive  from 
Peking,  his  capital  desecrated  for  the  first  time  in  the 
history  of  the  Manchus  by  the  presence  of  invaders,  his 
Palace  burned  and  his  treasures  looted.  Peking,  that  for 
over  two  hundred  years  had  known  security  under  the 
Manchu  rule,  learned  under  Hsien  Feng  the  first  of  many 
bitter  lessons,  receiving  in  the  mild  visitation  of  the 

405 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


Anglo-French  armies  a  warning  and  a  foretaste  of  the 
grievous  calamities  that  have  now  left  it  a  city  of  the 
destitute. 

Before  two  years  had  passed  of  the  ten  years  of  his  ill- 
starred  reign,  Hsien  Feng’s  Throne  was  tottering  under 
the  repeated  blows  struck  at  it  by  the  triumphant  forces 
of  the  Taipings ;  the  rebel  chief  had  proclaimed  himself 
Emperor  and  established  his  capital  at  Nanking.  What¬ 
ever  was  left  of  virility  and  patriotism  at  Peking  gnashed 
its  teeth  in  impotent  rage,  not  so  much  because  of  the 
imminence  of  the  danger,  as  because  of  the  hopeless 
depravity  of  the  Sovereign  and  the  men  whom  he  delighted 
to  honour.  Rome  was  burning  whilst  China’s  Nero  not 
only  fiddled,  but  danced  obscenely  to  his  own  music. 
Whilst  province  after  province  passed  through  fire  and 
sword  to  acknowledge  the  sway  of  the  Rebel  Emperor, 
the  Lord  of  Heaven  busied  himself  with  the  provision  of 
new  lights  for  his  harem  or  joined  his  evil  genius,  the 
notorious  Minister  Su  Shun,  in  orgies  of  unspeakable 
debauch  in  the  low  haunts  of  the  Chinese  quarter. 

The  following  well-authenticated  story  illustrates  the 
frame  of  mind  in  which  the  Emperor  and  the  Court 
of  the  Great  Pure  Dynast}^  prepared  to  meet  the  most 
serious  crisis  of  the  Taiping  Rebellion,  at  the  moment 
of  the  fall  of  Nanking  (March  1853).  It  recalls  vividly 
to  mind  the  attitude  of  the  eunuch-ridden  Mings,  eating, 
drinking  and  making  merry  when  Li  Tzu-ch’eng  and  his 
army  were  at  the  very  gates  of  the  capital.  The  parallel 
is  completed  by  the  fact  that,  thanks  to  the  evil  influence 
of  men  like  Ho  Shen  and  Su  Shun,  the  eunuchs’  power 
in  the  Palace  had  been  slowly  but  surely  increasing  since 
the  death  of  Ch’ien  Lung,  and  was  now  a  conspicuous 
factor  in  the  corruption  of  a  Court  sunken  in  luxury  and 
gross  living. 

The  spring  of  1853  had  been  appointed  for  the  selection 
of  handmaidens  of  Manchu  stock  to  enter  the  Palace. 

406 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


The  Court  Chamberlains  and  eunuchs  had  listed  and 
collected  a  large  number  of  nominees  for  the  harem,  and 
on  the  day  after  that  which  brought  the  news  of  the  fall 
of  Nanking,  a  long  line  of  these  young  women  stood 
waiting,  at  dawn,  outside  the  gate  of  the  Palace  of  Femi¬ 
nine  Repose.  Amongst  these  girls  was  one,  the  daughter 
of  a  retired  Manchu  lieutenant,  named  Tuan,  who  wept 
bitterly  at  being  compelled  to  leave  her  father,  now  a 
widower,  sixty  years  of  age  and  very  poor.  She  had  been 
able  to  supply  him  with  the  necessaries  of  life  by  giving 
lessons  and  by  needlework,  and  now  she  feared  he  would 
die  of  sheer  want,  for  he  had  no  sons  or  brothers  to  help 
him.  But  there  was  no  way  of  escaping  from  her  present 
position  :  her  name  had  been  included  in  the  list  of 
handmaidens  eligible,  and  the  captain  of  her  Banner  was 
responsible  for  her  appearance. 

The  news  of  the  fall  of  Nanking  naturally  and  forcibly 
disturbed  the  even  tenour  of  Hsien  Feng’s  day,  and 
compelled  him  to  discuss  with  the  Grand  Council  a  situa¬ 
tion  so  fraught  with  danger  to  his  Government  and  House. 
Even  Su  Shun  himself  was  greatly  disturbed,  the  Censorate 
buzzing  like  a  wasps’  nest  and  memorials  pouring  in. 
The  moment  was  unpropitious  for  dalliance;  audiences 
must  be  held  and  orders  given.  It  was  nearly  sunset 
before  the  business  of  the  day  was  done  and  Hsien  Feng 
could  give  a  thought  to  the  bevy  of  women  expectant  at 
his  gates.  They  had  stood  about  waiting  patiently  all 
day,  many  without  food  and  all  very  nervous ;  by  evening 
most  of  them  were  completely  exhausted  and  many  were 
in  tears. 

One  of  the  eunuchs  in  charge  rebuked  them  for  weeping, 
and  said  :  “  His  Majesty  will  soon  be  coming  to  inspect 
you.  How  dare  you  behave  in  this  unseemly  way  ? 
Has  the  whip  no  terrors  for  you  ?  ”  On  hearing  this  they 
all  trembled  and  wept  the  more,  and  none  dared  reply  to 
the  eunuch  except  the  motherless  maiden,  who  answered 

407 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


him  in  a  clear,  firm  voice,  saying  :  “I  have  been  forced 
to  leave  my  home  and  to  enter  the  Palace.  If  I  am 
selected  for  service  here,  it  means  that  I  shall  be  imprisoned 
for  the  rest  of  my  days  and  never  see  my  father  again. 
In  life  we  shall  be  separated ;  in  death  divided.  Can  you 
wonder  if  I  weep  ?  Any  one  with  a  heart  must  do  so. 
I  am  not  afraid  to  die,  and  care  nought  for  your  threatened 
punishment  !  Have  not  the  Taipings  seized  the  Yangtsze 
Valley,  and  now  that  Nanking  has  fallen,  is  not  half  of 
the  Empire  as  good  as  lost  ?  Yet  the  Son  of  Heaven  is 
not  concerned  to  find  competent  generals  to  take  the  field 
and  repel  the  invader,  so  that  his  Empire  may  be  saved; 
his  time  is  given  to  the  selection  of  women  who  may 
minister  to  his  pleasures.  He  drags  the  daughters  of  the 
people  from  their  homes  and  imprisons  them  in  his  Palace, 
where  they  will  never  breathe  again  the  air  of  freedom, 
so  that  he  may  enjoy  himself  for  a  brief  space  !  Little  he 
recks  of  the  impending  fate  of  his  ancestral  altars  and  the 
tutelary  gods  !  The  Taiping  host  will  soon  be  knocking 
at  his  Palace  gates,  and  then  the  nine  spirits  of  his  ances¬ 
tors  will  lack  their  burnt  offerings  and  worship  of  ap¬ 
pointed  days.  I  do  not  fear  death  :  and  for  your  threats 
of  the  whip  I  care  nought  at  all.” 

At  this  outburst,  spoken  in  a  loud  voice,  the  eunuch 
endeavoured  to  quiet  her  by  putting  his  hand  over  her 
mouth,  but  at  that  moment  the  Emperor,  in  his  chair,  ap¬ 
peared  upon  the  scene.  The  eunuch  bound  her  hands  and 
led  her  to  the  presence,  bidding  her  kneel.  But  she 
refused  to  do  obeisance  and  looked  defiantly  at  the  Em¬ 
peror.  Now  His  Majesty  had  heard  the  last  few  words 
of  her  speech,  and  good-naturedly  asked  what  all  the 
trouble  was  about,  whereupon  she  deliberately  repeated 
what  she  had  said.  Hsien  Feng  was  delighted  with  her 
spirit:  “You  are  a  true  heroine,”  said  he;  “untie  her 
hands  and  lead  her  to  see  the  Empress.”  The  Chinese 
chroniclers,  who  like  to  make  such  stories  end  happily 

408 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


and  with  a  good  moral,  aver  that  Hsien  Feng  gave  this 
outspoken  maiden  in  marriage  to  one  of  the  Imperial 
Princes  who  had  just  lost  his  wife  (it  being  the  custom 
for  the  Emperor  to  decide  the  matrimonial  affairs  of  the 
Imperial  Clan),  and  in  this  position  she  was  able  to 
support  her  father  in  his  old  age. 

At  the  beginning  of  Hsien  Feng’s  reign  there  were,  as 
usual,  two  parties  about  the  Throne,  the  one  honest  and 
patriotic  according  to  its  lights,  the  other  utterly  corrupt. 
The  acknowledged  leader  of  the  powers  of  evil  in  high 
places  was  the  Imperial  Clansman  Su  Shun,  who  set 
himself  to  debauch  the  body  and  soul  of  the  young 
Emperor  by  every  kind  of  wickedness.  Not  that  Hsien 
Feng  required  much  enticing  in  that  direction,  for  his 
tendencies  were  those  of  a  vicious  sensualist  from  his 
youth  up.  Su  Shun  merely  supplied  the  match  of  experi¬ 
ence  and  suggestion  to  a  brand  all  ready  for  the  burning. 
Before  long  he  became  the  dme  damnee  of  the  depraved 
monarch,  whose  physical  condition  bore  testimony  to  his 
way  of  living ;  often,  after  a  night  of  prolonged  orgies,  his 
legs  tottered  under  him  at  the  hour  of  audience  and  on 
one  occasion  he  was  unable  properly  to  perform  the 
sacrificial  rites  at  the  Temple  of  Heaven. 

The  only  official  who  bravely  tried  to  counteract  the 
evil  influence  of  Su  Shun  at  Court  was  the  Grand  Secretary, 
Po  Sui ;  1  an  honest,  straightforward  man,  whose  blunt 
speech  and  fearless  criticisms  gradually  came  to  offend 
the  Emperor.  Su  Shun  conspired  with  the  Princes  Yi 
and  Cheng  (who  later,  upon  Hsien  Feng’s  death,  joined 
him  in  usurping  the  Regency)  to  get  rid  of  their  un¬ 
compromising  and  plain-spoken  opponent,  and,  judging 
by  documentary  and  circumstantial  evidence,  there 
appears  to  be  good  reason  for  believing  that  Hsien  Feng 
was  a  party  to  the  plot.  It  ended  in  Po  Sui’s  decapitation 

1  Vide  China  under  the  Empress  Dowager,  p.  31,  where,  by  a  clerical 
error,  his  name  is  wrongly  given  as  Po  Chun. 

409 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


on  the  public  execution  ground,  and  the  complete  su¬ 
premacy  of  Su  Shun  and  his  party  from  1859  until  the  death 
of  Hsien  Feng,  and  Tzu  Hsi’s  successful  coup  d'etat  against 
the  usurping  Regents. 

The  scheme  which  Su  Shun  initiated  for  the  undoing 
and  judicial  murdering  of  Po  Sui  is  worth  describing, 
because  it  reveals  something  of  the  depths  of  subterranean 
intrigue  that  lay  behind  the  gilded  splendour  of  the 
Dragon  Throne ;  at  the  same  time  it  illustrates  and 
explains  the  complicated  machinery  by  which  the  instinct 
of  Chinese  rulers  has  always  fairly  safeguarded  the  road 
to  public  office — that  is,  the  road  to  wealth — from  the  worst 
abuses  of  venality  and  nepotism.  The  system  of  public 
service  examinations,  with  all  its  elaborate  (and,  on  the 
whole,  effective)  precautions  against  chicanery  and  fraud, 
has  probably  contributed  more  than  any  other  factor  to 
the  permanent  stability  of  China’s  civilisation.  It  is 
surely  a  striking  testimony  to  the  intuitive  wisdom  of 
that  civilisation  and  to  its  binding  force,  that,  even  in 
times  of  chaos  and  corruption,  China’s  worst  rulers  have 
usually  realised  the  all-importance  of  honesty  and  fair 
play  in  the  examinations  for  the  literary  degrees, 
whereby  the  humblest  subject  could  rise  to  the  highest 
offices  in  the  land.  Even  the  Taipings  established  a 
similar  competitive  system,  at  their  Court  of  a  day,  in 
Nanking. 

At  the  examinations  held  for  the  Metropolitan  degree, 
in  the  autumn  of  1858,  Po  Sui  was  Chief  Examiner. 
Thoroughly  honest  and  incapable  of  favouritism  himself, 
he  seems  to  have  suffered  from  the  failing,  common 
enough  amongst  high  officials,  of  taking  too  much  for 
granted  in  his  subordinates.  The  position  of  Chief 
Examiner,  at  all  times  one  of  great  dignity,  was  then  one 
of  peculiar  and  dangerous  responsibility,  because  for  some 
time  past  there  had  been  ugly  rumours  of  bribery  and 
impersonation  in  connection  with  other  examinations. 

410 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 

It  is  doubtful  whether  these  had  come  to  the  ears  of  Po 
Sui,  whose  character  was  easy-going  and  trustful;  in  any 
case,  contemporary  opinions  and  posterity  alike  have 
acquitted  him  of  all  suspicion  in  reference  to  the  cases 
which,  thanks  to  the  malevolence  of  Su  Shun,  cost  him 
his  life. 

Po  Sui  had  a  confidential  servant  (of  the  type  of  Gehazi) 
named  Chin  Hsiang,  who  saw  and  seized  opportunities 
for  himself  in  his  master’s  high  office.  To  him  there  came 
secretly  a  Manchu  named  P’ing  Ling,  a  man  of  good 
family  but  disreputable  habits,  who  made  a  living  by 
singing  at  banquets  in  woman’s  attire  with  his  face 
powdered.  Being  young  and  good-looking,  this  ne’er-do- 
weel  cherished  ambitions  to  enter  the  public  service.  He 
therefore  bribed  Chin  Hsiang  with  a  thousand  taels  to 
secure  for  him  a  high  place  at  the  examination.  Chin 
Hsiang  arranged  for  a  substitute  to  enter  in  Ping’s  name, 
whose  essay  was  awarded  the  seventh  place  on  the  list. 

Another  rich  but  illiterate  candidate,  a  native  of  Canton, 
named  Lo,  also  bribed  Chin  Hsiang,  who  in  this  case  went 
so  far,  with  the  help  of  the  assistant  examiner,  as  to 
tamper  with  the  order  of  the  successful  papers,  including 
Lo’s  amongst  them,  after  it  had  been  relegated  to  the 
supplementary  list  by  the  examiners.  When  the  revising 
examiner  came  to  inspect  Lo’s  essay,  he  saw  at  once  that 
an  irregularity  had  been  committed,  but,  thinking  that 
it  must  have  occurred  with  Po  Sui’s  knowledge,  made  no 
comment  at  the  time.  It  is  possible  that  he  foresaw  an 
opportunity  of  making  friends  of  the  mammon  of  un¬ 
righteousness  and  gaining  the  favour  of  the  powerful  Su 
Shun.  In  any  case,  he  informed  one  of  the  Censors, 
named  Meng,  of  Lo’s  case,  and  Meng  prepared  a  memorial 
impeaching  the  whole  staff  of  examiners,  with  Po  Sui  as 
their  responsible  chief. 

Before  handing  in  the  memorial,  Meng  happened  to  be 
dining  one  evening  at  the  Restaurant  of  Abundant 

411 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


Blessings  in  the  Coal  Market  Street,  when  he  overheard 
a  conversation  between  P’ing  Ling  and  a  couple  of  actors 
who  were  dining  with  him.  P’ing  Ling  was  in  his  cups 
and  was  talking  in  a  loud  voice.  The  Censor  did  not 
know  him  by  sight,  but  pricked  up  his  ears  at  the  following 
remark  :  “  Not  long  ago  I  was  no  better  off  than  either 
of  you;  people  looked  down  upon  me  as  the  scum  of 
society.  But  now  I  have  taken  a  high  place  at  the 
examination  and  that  is  all  over.  If  you  like  I  can  help 
you  fellows  to  attain  success  by  the  same  means,  when 
the  next  examination  takes  place.  It  is  only  a  matter 
of  paying  big  squeezes,  and  there’s  no  reason  at  all  why 
you  shouldn’t  come  out  near  the  top  of  the  list.” 

Upon  this  the  Censor  made  inquiries,  and  ascertained 
P’ing  Ling’s  name.  Waiting  until  the  actors  had  become 
thoroughly  fuddled  with  wine,  he  proceeded  to  introduce 
himself  to  P’ing  as  an  old  family  acquaintance.  Telling 
him  that  he  was  one  of  the  unsuccessful  candidates  from 
Nanking,  he  asked  how  he  could  arrange  to  be  successful 
at  the  next  attempt.  P’ing,  too  drunk  to  be  suspicious, 
told  him  the  whole  story.  Next  day  the  Censor,  adding 
this  new  material  to  his  memorial,  laid  the  whole  plot 
before  the  Throne.  Hsien  Feng  was  greatly  incensed  and 
bade  the  Board  of  Rites  bring  for  his  inspection  the 
successful  essays  of  P’ing  Ling  and  Lo,  which,  in  accord¬ 
ance  with  custom,  had  been  filed  in  the  archives.  After 
perusing  the  essays,  the  Emperor  ordered  that  these  two 
candidates  should  forthwith  undergo  a  special  examination 
in  the  Imperial  library.  The  Emperor  himself  selected 
the  themes,  the  prose  essay  being  “  In  what  does  happiness 
consist  ?  ”  and  the  verse  theme,  “  A  wise  man  hesitates 
to  talk  in  front  of  a  parrot.”  Prince  Cheng  and  Su  Shun 
were  appointed  supervisors  of  this  examination.  As  both 
the  candidates  were  illiterate,  the  result,  as  may  be 
imagined,  was  laughable  enough,  except  for  those  con¬ 
cerned.  Their  names  were  erased  from  the  list  of  successful 

412 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


candidates;  Lo  committed  suicide,  and  P’ing  Ling  died 
in  prison.  The  examiners  were  then  handed  over  to  the 
Board  of  Punishments. 

At  this  stage  Su  Shun  appeared  upon  the  scene.  Fate 
had  delivered  his  adversary  into  his  hand,  for  he,  Su  Shun, 
was  President  of  the  Board  of  Punishments.  When  first 
the  Board  reported  on  Po  Sui’s  case,  Hsien  Feng  was 
reluctant  to  impose  the  death  penalty,  upon  which  Su 
Shun  and  his  confederates  (the  Princes  Yi  and  Cheng) 
insisted,  but  Su  was  able  to  persuade  the  weak  and 
dissolute  young  monarch  to  adopt  stern  measures.  Hsien 
Feng  knew  that  Po  Sui  was  a  just  man  and  rightly  popular, 
even  as  he  knew  that  Su  Shun  was  detested  for  his  avarice 
and  cruelty;  he  knew  that  Po  Sui  had  deserved  well  of 
the  State  and  that  his  offence  in  the  present  instance  was 
one  of  carelessness  at  most;  he  therefore  hesitated  and 
summoned  the  Grand  Council  to  discuss  the  matter. 
Finally  he  was  persuaded  to  issue  the  decree  which  con¬ 
demned  Po  Sui  to  death,  and  appointed  Su  Shun  and  Chao 
Kuang  to  superintend  the  execution.  This  decree  reads  : 
“  Prince  Yi  and  his  colleagues  have  memorialised  Us  in 
regard  to  the  examination  abuses  case  of  last  autumn,  and 
submitted  their  proposals  as  to  the  penalties  to  be  imposed. 
We  have  carefully  perused  and  considered  their  report. 
There  are  certain  points  in  it  to  which  We  desire  to  call 
the  attention  of  Our  Ministers.  The  examination  system 
is  intended  for  the  selection  of  candidates  for  government 
service,  and  severe  penalties  are  imposed  for  malpractices 
and  favouritism  on  the  part  of  the  examiners.  So  far, 
during  Our  dynasty,  there  has  been  no  case  of  a  member 
of  the  Commission  endangering  his  life  by  conniving  at 
malpractices.  But  now,  to  Our  sorrow  and  surprise,  the 
Grand  Secretary,  Po  Sui,  has  gone  so  far  as  to  defy  the 
law  and  to  forget  the  benefits  bestowed  upon  him.  As  a 
Grand  Secretary  and  Minister  of  the  Presence  for  many 
years,  besides  having  held  office  as  Grand  Councillor  and 

413 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


Comptroller  of  the  Household,  how  could  Po  Sui  have 
been  ignorant  of  the  law,  especially  as  his  own  career  began 
at  a  public  examination  ?  He  acceded  to  the  proposal  of 
his  servant,  Chin  Hsiang,  to  be  allowed  to  substitute  a 
revised  essay  for  that  of  one  of  the  candidates.  If  Chin 
Hsiang  were  still  alive,  there  would  be  no  difficulty  in 
establishing  the  facts  before  the  Tribunal  of  Justice.  We 
have  precedents  to  guide  Our  decision  in  the  dynastic 
laws,  and  are  by  no  means  straining  a  point  to  serve  the 
ends  of  justice.  All  We  are  now  considering  is  the  evidence 
of  Po  Sui  himself,  to  which  We  have  given  careful  considera¬ 
tion,  as  We  find  that  although  there  are  certain  extenuating 
circumstances,  the  law  must  be  allowed  to  take  its  course. 

“  At  this  point  We  pause  and  the  tears  flow  down  Our 
cheeks.1  In  accordance  with  the  advice  of  my  Princes 
and  Ministers,  We  command  that  Po  Sui  be  summarily 
decapitated  and  that  Su  Shun  and  Chao  Ivuang  shall  duly 
superintend  his  execution  in  the  public  square.  The 
examination  secretaries,  P’u  An,  Lo  Hung-yi  and  Li 
Hung-ling,  are  also  to  be  decapitated,  that  the  law  may 
be  vindicated.  The  assistant  examiner,  Chu  Feng-piao, 
is  to  be  cashiered,  for  We  cannot  believe  that  he  actually 
connived  at  his  colleagues’  misconduct ;  otherwise,  he,  too, 
would  have  been  severely  punished.  The  Hanlin  Com¬ 
piler,  Tsou  Shih-lin,  who,  in  his  capacity  as  junior  examiner, 
amended  the  composition  of  the  successful  candidate 
(P’ing  Ling),  since  cashiered,  is  henceforth  and  for  ever 
debarred  from  official  employment.  Twelve  of  the  suc¬ 
cessful  candidates  are  to  be  brought  up  for  further  in¬ 
quiries,  and  the  Ministry  of  Rites  is  to  report  on  the 
penalties  to  be  imposed  on  the  remainder  of  the  examiners. 
The  proctors  who  were  on  duty  during  the  examination 
are  to  report,  explaining  how  two  characters  in  one  of  the 
essays  came  to  be  altered  during  the  process  of  collecting 

1  In  reading  Imperial  decrees  of  this  type  one  is  frequently  reminded 
of  Mr.  Pecksniff  and  “  the  duty  he  owed  to  society.” 

414 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


the  papers.  Three  of  the  candidates,  Hsieh  Sen-chili, 
Hsiang  Yiian-p’ei  and  Li  Tan-hua  are  to  be  sent  under 
escort  from  their  native  places  for  trial  at  Peking. 

“  Henceforward,  the  examiners  at  all  all-important 
public  examinations,  must  cleanse  their  hearts  and  rid 
themselves  of  every  sort  of  prejudice,  so  that  no  candidate 
shall  enter  the  Government  service  by  unfair  means. 
The  candidates  are  each  and  all  to  pay  more  heed  to  their 
moral  character  and  to  inculcate  self-respect;  let  them 
refrain  from  intrigue  and  from  base  attempts  to  win 
favour,  taking  warning  from  the  present  example.  Thus 
will  Our  object  be  attained,  which  is  to  raise  the  standard 
of  morals  among  the  scholars  of  the  Empire  :  with  this 
ideal  before  Us,  We  have  not  shrunk  from  administering 
exemplary  punishment  as  the  law  demands.  Surely  you, 
Our  Ministers,  will  sympathise  with  Our  ideas,  and  appre¬ 
ciate  the  motive  which  animates  Us.” 

So  Su  Shun  and  the  powers  of  evil  triumphed.  On  the 
day  fixed  for  Po  Sui’s  decapitation,  he  and  the  other  con¬ 
demned  officials  were  conveyed  in  carts  to  the  place  of 
execution,  known  as  the  Western  Market,  where  they 
were  to  await  the  arrival  of  the  Palace  decree  finally 
confirming  the  order.  Po  Sui  wore  the  costume  which 
custom  requires  in  the  case  of  high  officials  condemned  to 
be  beheaded;  he  was  dressed  in  plain  black  silk  and  his 
official  hat  was  shorn  of  its  red  tassel — a  sign  of  mourning. 
On  arrival  at  the  place  of  execution  he  prostrated  himself 
in  the  direction  of  the  Palace  and  gave  thanks  for  favours 
received  in  the  past.  After  this  he  turned  to  his  son, 
Chung  Lien,  saying  :  “  The  Emperor  will  surely  spare  my 
life ;  he  is  sending  me  to  the  execution  ground  as  a 
warning,  but  at  the  last  moment  I  feel  sure  that  he  will 
grant  a  reprieve.  When  it  arrives,  I  shall  go  to  the 
Temple  of  the  ‘  Evening  Ray  ’  and  wait  there  until 
arrangements  are  made  for  me  to  set  off  to  my  place  of 
banishment.  Do  you  return  home  and  prepare  the 

415 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


various  things  which  I  shall  need  on  the  journey.”  (When 
high  officials  are  sentenced  to  death,  the  Throne  frequently 
commutes  the  capital  penalty  at  the  last  moment  to  one 
of  perpetual  banishment.  Po  fully  expected  to  be  sent 
to  Turkestan  or  to  the  post  roads.) 

He  had  scarcely  finished  speaking,  when  Chao  Kuang, 
the  second  official  supervising  the  execution  and  one  of 
Po  Sui’s  oldest  friends,  arrived  in  his  chair.  His  eyes  were 
red  with  weeping.  He  had  been  waiting  at  the  Palace 
for  the  final  confirmation  or  modification  of  the  sentence. 
As  soon  as  Po  Sui  saw  him,  he  said  :  “  It’s  all  over.  Left 
to  himself,  the  Emperor  would  never  have  been  so  pitiless  : 
Su  Shun  has  been  my  evil  genius  from  first  to  last.  It  is 
he  who  has  hardened  His  Majesty’s  heart.  After  all, 
what  does  my  death  matter?  The  day  is  close  at  hand 
when  Su  Shun  will  share  my  fate.  You  must  look  forward 
to  that  day.” 

With  that,  he  beckoned  to  the  headsman,  who  came 
forward  and  fell  on  one  knee,  saying  :  “If  Your  Excellency 
the  Grand  Secretary  will  be  pleased  to  kneel  down,  I  will 
give  you  a  reverent  send-off  to  the  next  world.”  Po  Sui 
did  so,  and  the  executioner,  with  knee  bent  in  respect, 
deftly  cut  off  his  head  at  the  first  stroke. 

Before  signing  the  fatal  order,  LIsien  Feng  had  sum¬ 
moned  Chao  Kuang  to  the  presence.  The  Emperor  was 
seated  on  the  Throne  with  the  vermilion  pencil  in  his  hand 
but  seemed  reluctant  to  sign  the  death  warrant.  For  a 
long  time  he  hesitated,  repeatedly  exclaiming  :  “  Although 
legally  his  crime  deserves  death,  there  are  extenuating 
circumstances.”  Su  Shun  replied  :  “  Whatever  the  cir¬ 
cumstances,  this  is  no  case  for  your  clemency.  Your 
Majesty  has  admitted  as  much.” 

The  weak  monarch  still  hesitated  to  sign.  Finally,  in 
desperation,  he  handed  the  pencil  to  Su  Shun,  who  promptly 
marked  against  Po  Sui’s  name  the  fatal  hook.  Chao  Kuang 
burst  into  tears  and  departed  for  the  place  of  execution. 

416 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


After  Po  Sui’s  death,  one  of  his  proteges  presented  the 
following  pair  of  memorial  scrolls,  which  were  much  ad¬ 
mired  as  an  example  of  skill  in  dealing  with  a  delicate 
subject : 

“  In  life  he  attained  to  high  honours,  in  death  he  was 
unfortunate.  Come  bounteous  dew  and  rain,  or  come  the 
thunder  bolt  of  wrath,  all  proceed  alike  from  the  Imperial 
will.” 

“  The  Minister’s  gate  may  have  been  like  a  market,1 
but  the  Minister’s  heart  was  pure  as  water.  Do  you, 
majestic  Heaven  and  divine  earth,  look  down  on  him  with 
pity,  loyal  and  forsaken.” 

Two  years  afterwards,  when  the  masterful  statecraft  of 
Tzu  Hsi  had  defeated  all  the  plots  of  the  usurping  Regents, 
Su  Shun  met  his  death  on  the  same  spot  which  had  wit¬ 
nessed  the  execution  of  his  victim,  Po  Sui.2  But  whereas 
Po  Sui’s  death  was  universally  deplored,  that  of  Su  Shun 
was  welcomed  by  the  populace  of  Peking  with  general 
rejoicings.  He  went  to  his  doom,  clad  in  a  long  white 
robe  of  sackcloth.  As  he  emerged  from  the  Shunchih  gate 
of  the  inner  city  on  his  way  to  the  execution  ground,  it 
was  noticed  that  his  face  was  covered  with  dust,  for  a  high 
wind  was  blowing.  Arriving  at  the  Western  Market,  he 
alighted  somewhat  feebly  from  the  open  cart  in  which  the 
condemned  are  conveyed,  and  began  to  say  a  few  words 
of  farewell  to  Prince  Jui,  who  had  been  commanded  by 
Tzu  Hsi  to  superintend  the  execution.  He  was  not  given 
time  to  finish,  but  was  dragged  forward,  made  to  kneel, 
and  in  a  moment  his  head  fell,  his  death  being  greeted  by 
loud  applause  from  the  crowd.  The  same  headsman 
officiated  who  had  dispatched  Po  Sui  two  years  before. 
Not  one  of  Su  Shun’s  family  was  present  to  see  the  last 
of  him  :  his  sons  had  gone  to  the  gate  of  the  prison,  but 

1  This  in  allusion  to  the  train  of  clients  attending  on  an  influential 
personage. 

2  Vide  China  under  the  Empress  Dowager,  pp.  47,  48. 

EE  417 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


had  been  driven  away  by  the  gatekeepers  with  whips. 
Rarely  had  any  high  official  achieved  Su  Shun’s  measure 
of  unpopularity  with  the  people  of  Peking. 

When  officials  of  high  rank  are  unfortunate  enough  to 
suffer  the  fate  of  public  decapitation,  it  is  the  custom  that 
the  executioner,  in  exchange  for  a  heavy  fee,  stabs  his 
victim  to  the  heart  before  severing  his  head,  the  idea 
being  that  by  this  means  little  or  no  blood  would  be  shed. 
On  coming  forward,  the  executioner  is  presented  with  a 
basin  and  towel  wherewith  to  perform  ablutions.  In  Su 
Shun’s  case,  however,  all  these  delicate  attentions  were 
omitted.  It  is  also  the  custom  that  after  the  execution 
the  headsman  shall  immediately  sew  the  head  on  again, 
almost  as  soon  as  it  falls  to  the  ground  :  for  this  a  fee  of 
1000  taels  is  usually  claimed.1  But  Su  Shun’s  body  was 
left  where  it  fell,  and  the  dogs  came  and  licked  up  his  blood. 
His  head  was  hung  for  many  days  in  the  public  square. 

Su  Shun’s  confederates,  the  usurping  Regents,  the 
Princes  Yi  and  Cheng,  shared  his  fate  in  1861,  by  order  of 
Tzii  Hsi.  Both  met  death  with  philosophic  calm.  Prince 
Yi’s  family  were  permitted  to  be  present  in  the  Court  of 
the  Imperial  Clan,  and  he  gave  them  elaborate  instructions 
as  to  his  funeral  and  the  division  of  his  property.  He 
desired  to  be  clad  in  white  silk  robes  and  particularly 
asked  that  his  portrait  (which  is  always  painted  after 
death  and  has  a  semi-sacred  significance  in  connection  with 
the  rites  of  ancestral  worship)  should  also  be  mounted  on 
plain  silk.  Prince  Cheng  showed  signs  of  agitation,  and 
his  last  utterances  were  indistinct,  but  in  his  case,  too,  the 
family  was  present. 

The  nooses  used  for  both  were  covered  with  delicate 
silken  material.  Two  low  tea  tables  were  placed  in  the 
“  empty  chamber  ”  of  the  Clan  Court,2  and  the  two 

1  This  was  done  in  the  case  of  Ch’i  Hsiu,  who  was  decapitated  in 
1901  in  the  presence  of  the  allied  troops. 

2  The  name  is  euphemistic,  in  the  sense  that  the  room  was  never 
to  be  tenanted  except  by  Princes  or  Clansmen  under  sentence. 

418 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


Princes  were  then  invited  to  mount  the  tables  and  adjust 
the  nooses  on  their  necks  amidst  the  lamentations  of  their 
respective  families.  Prince  Yi  had  no  sooner  complied, 
and  the  table  been  drawn  away,  than  he  expired.  Prince 
Cheng  was  less  fortunate.  He  was  a  man  of  enormous 
weight,  and  no  sooner  had  he  placed  the  noose  around  his 
neck  than  the  rope  broke  and  he  fell  heavily  to  the  ground. 
At  the  second  attempt  he  was  successful.  The  underlings 
at  the  Clan  Court  naturally  availed  themselves  of  the 
opportunity  to  squeeze  the  unfortunate  families  of  the 
once  all-powerful  Princes.  Their  relatives  had  to  pay 
out  over  one  hundred  thousand  taels  before  being  allowed 
to  remove  the  bodies  and  arrange  for  their  honourable 
burial. 

In  August  1861,  Hsien  Feng  died,  a  fugitive  and  a 
physical  wreck,  at  Jehol,  in  his  thirtieth  year,  leaving  the 
Throne  to  his  only  son,  the  Emperor  T’ung  Chih,  then  a 
child  of  six.  During  his  minority,  under  the  Regency  of 
Tzu  Hsi  and  her  colleague  the  Empress  Tzu  An,  the  tide 
of  disintegration  was  temporarily  checked,  the  Government 
being  largely  in  the  hands  of  wise  and  liberal  statesmen  of 
the  type  of  Prince  Kung  and  Wen  Hsiang,  and  the  Imperial 
armies  led  by  capable  generals,  like  Tseng  Kuo-fan  and 
Tso  Tsung-t’ang. 

Of  T’ung  Chih’s  reign  and  his  personal  influence  on  the 
destinies  of  the  Empire,  it  is  unnecessary  to  say  much,  for 
he  attained  his  majority  and  assumed  nominal  control  of 
the  Government  in  February  1873,  and  died  in  January 
1875.  That  he  was  never  intended  to  live  and  to  deprive 
Tzu  Hsi  of  her  undisputed  authority,  is  certain.  Equally 
certain  that  she  encouraged,  or  took  no  steps  to  restrain, 
the  vicious  tendencies  which  were  matters  of  notoriety 
in  Peking,  and  which  eventually  led  to  his  death  from  a 
disease  contracted  in  the  low  haunts  of  the  Chinese  city.1 
But  the  following  notes,  taken  from  the  reminiscences  of 
1  Vide  China  under  the  Empress  Dowager,  pp.  119,  120. 

419 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


an  aged  eunuch,  retired  from  the  Palace  after  the  death  of 
Tzii  Hsi  in  1908,  afford  instructive  information  regarding 
certain  details  of  the  inner  history  of  the  Court  at  that 
period,  and  notably  on  T’ung  Chih’s  marriage  to  the 
virtuous  and  pathetically  unfortunate  A-lu-te. 

Before  his  marriage,  says  this  eunuch’s  diary,  the  young 
Emperor  was  in  the  habit  of  visiting  the  theatres  and 
brothels  of  the  Ch’ien  Men  quarter  in  the  company  of  a 
eunuch  named  Chou,  for  which  purpose  (as  the  Palace 
gates  were  closed)  he  had  an  opening  made  in  the  wall  just 
outside  the  Western  Gate  of  Perpetual  Peace.  At  this 
point  Chou’s  cart,  drawn  by  a  fast-pacing  mule,  would 
await  him,  and  it  became  matter  of  common  gossip  in  the 
capital  that  the  Son  of  Heaven  was  frequently  mixed  up 
in  drunken  and  disreputable  brawls,  and  would  often 
return  to  the  Palace,  even  after  he  had  attained  his 
majority,  long  after  the  hour  fixed  for  audiences.  In  the 
day  time  he  would  frequent,  incognito,  the  book  and 
picture  shops  of  the  Liu  Li-ch’ang  to  purchase  lewd 
carvings  and  paintings  of  the  kind  to  which  the  dissolute 
patricians  of  Peking  have  always  been  partial. 

T’ung  Chih  hated  and  feared  his  mother’s  favourite 
Chief  Eunuch,  the  notorious  An  Te-hai — who,  if  the 
common  report  of  the  Palace  spoke  truly,  was  no  eunuch. 
He  also  disliked  Su  Shun,  who  used  to  bully  and  tease  the 
boy. 

When  the  time  arrived,  in  the  autumn  of  1872,  for 
arranging  the  young  Emperor’s  marriage,  which  took 
place  early  in  the  following  year,  the  two  maidens  selected 
from  the  large  number  of  eligible  candidates  were  A-Lu-te, 
(the  daughter  of  C-h’ung  Ch’i),  and  a  daughter  of  Feng  Hsia, 
the  friend  of  Jung  Lu.  Tzu  Hsi  preferred  the  latter, 
whilst  her  colleague,  the  Empress  of  the  Eastern  Palace, 
preferred  A-Lu-te.  As  the  Co-Regent  Empresses  could 
not  agree,  Tzu  Hsi  finally  proposed  that  T’ung  Chih 
should  be  left  to  make  his  own  choice  :  “  Let  him  see 

420 


The  Return  from  the  Wilderness.  The  Princess  Imperial’s  Sedan. 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


both  girls  1  and  he  can  select  the  one  he  prefers.”  Tzu 
Hsi  felt  no  doubt  that  T’ung  Chih  would  be  guided  by  her 
wishes,  and  she  was  therefore  much  displeased  when  the 
Emperor,  on  being  ushered  in,  and  having  the  position 
explained  to  him,  replied  without  hesitation  :  “I  choose 
A-Lu-te  as  my  Empress.”  Tzu  Hsi  could  not  very  well 
say  more  at  the  moment,  so  A-Lu-te  became  Senior  Con¬ 
sort,  and  the  Discerning  Concubine,  as  Lady  Feng  was  now 
called,2  became  Senior  Secondary  Consort. 

After  the  marriage,  Tzu  Hsi  used  often  to  scold  and 
revile  her  son  for  his  foolish  choice.  “You  ought  to  have 
done  as  I  bade  you  and  chosen  the  Discerning  Concubine. 
I  find  her  intelligent  and  dutiful,  whilst  A-Lu-te  is  a 
feather-head,  who  knows  nothing  about  Court  etiquette. 
Unless  she  amends  I  shall  have  to  consider  her  deposition. 
In  any  case,  I  must  ask  you  to  cease  dallying  about  her 
Palace,  instead  of  attending  to  Government  business.” 
She  would  also  frequently  instruct  the  eunuch  Li  Lien-ying 
to  convey  the  “  Discerning  Concubine  ”  at  night  to  the 
monarch’s  bedchamber,  in  the  hope  that  she  might 
present  him  with  an  heir  to  the  Throne,  and  thus  secure 
for  herself  (Tzu  Hsi)  a  long  and  undisputed  tenure  of  the 
Regency.  As  etiquette  prescribes,  Li  would  carry  the 
Discerning  Concubine  on  his  back,  with  only  a  cloak 
thrown  over  her  person,  and  leave  her  at  the  lower  end 
of  the  Dragon  couch,  from  which  position  it  was  her  duty 
to  raise  herself  gradually  till  she  reached  the  level  of  the 
Imperial  pillow. 

But  T’ung  Chih  cared  nought  for  the  lady  and  avoided 
her  as  much  as  possible.  Worried  by  his  mother’s  inter- 

1  An  unusual  proceeding,  which  custom  prohibits  before  the  marriage 
ceremony,  as  the  bridegroom  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  selection  of 
his  wife. 

2  This  lady  caused  trouble  in  1909,  by  insisting  on  remaining,  in 
resentment  which  simulated  mourning,  at  the  Eastern  Mausolea  after 
the  Old  Buddha’s  interment,  but  the  Empress  Lung  Yu  tempted  her 
back  to  Peking  by  means  of  certain  concessions  as  to  her  precedence 
and  emoluments. 


421 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


ference  in  his  domestic  affairs,  he  sought  distraction  in  the 
haunts  of  the  Chinese  city,  and  when  he  did  happen  to 
pass  a  night  in  the  Forbidden  City,  he  would  frequently 
leave  the  Discerning  One  to  undisputed  possession  of  the 
Dragon  couch,  and  take  up  his  quarters  in  the  Palace  of 
Heavenly  Purity. 

When  he  fell  sick,  Tzu  Hsi  pretended  to  put  the  blame 
on  A-Lu-te,  and  soundly  rated  her  for  having  seduced 
the  Emperor  from  his  mother’s  influence.  His  death  was 
a  sore  blow  to  his  unhappy  widow,  whose  eyes  were 
swollen  with  weeping.  One  day  her  father,  a  time-serving 
wretch,  came  in  to  see  her,  and  subsequently  reported  to 
Tzu  Hsi  as  follows  :  “  If  the  Empress  is  so  melancholy  the 
best  thing  she  can  do,  for  every  one’s  sake,  is  to  follow 
His  Sainted  Majesty  to  the  tomb  as  speedily  as  possible.” 

Two  hours  later  she  died,  and  the  uncharitable  say  that 
Ch’ung  Ch’i,  anticipating  Tzu  Hsi’s  wishes,  gave  her  the 
opium  which  enabled  her  to  commit  suicide,  because  he 
foresaw  trouble  ahead  if  she  gave  birth  to  an  heir,  and 
realised  that  his  own  position  would  then  be  compromised 
with  Tzu  Hsi.  A  large  and  influential  party  at  Court 
would  demand  the  heir’s  elevation  to  the  Throne,  and  un¬ 
less  they  succeeded  in  depriving  her  of  power  (which  was 
not  likely)  Tzu  Hsi  would  surely  wreak  vengeance  on 
A-Lu-te’s  family.  So,  like  a  wise  man,  he  took  precaution¬ 
ary  measures. 

After  the  death  of  Hsien  Feng  in  1861,  the  vigorous  and 
intelligent  policy  of  his  young  widow  (Tzu  Hsi),  loyally 
backed  by  Generals  of  the  stamp  of  Tseng  Kuo-fan  and 
Tso  Tsung-t’ang,  succeeded  in  stamping  out  the  Taiping 
rebellion — greatly  assisted,  it  is  true,  by  Chinese  Gordon’s 
“  ever-victorious  army.”  It  had  lasted  for  thirteen  years — 
devastating  nine  provinces  and  bringing  death  and  desolation 
to  untold  millions.  Since  1855,  the  first  high  incentive  and 
semi -religious  character  of  the  movement  had  completely 

422 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


disappeared;  it  had  become  a  vast  and  ruthless  horde  of 
undisciplined  bandits  which  lived,  au  jour  le  jour,  upon 
the  country.  As  it  is  to-day,  so  it  was  then;  China’s 
rebels  could  fight  and  could  take  cities,  but  they  had  no 
system  and  no  cohesion  to  offer  in  place  of  that  which 
they  had  contrived  to  overthrow.  As  it  is  to-day,  so  it 
was  then ;  the  plunder  lust,  the  insatiable  frenzy  of  loot, 
demoralised  both  rebels  and  Imperialists ;  so  that,  until 
the  arrival  on  the  scene  of  General  Gordon  and  new 
military  ideals,  hostilities  dragged  on  almost  aimlessly,  to 
the  ever-increasing  distress  of  non-combatants. 

Nevertheless,  it  is  well  to  remember  that  the  Taiping 
rebellion,  like  all  other  great  risings  in  China  against  an 
unpopular  dynasty,  represented  originally  a  genuine 
intention  on  the  part  of  its  leaders  to  put  an  end  to  very 
real  grievances  and  to  replace  the  Manchu  dynasty  by 
something  more  efficient  and  more  righteous.  The  annals 
of  the  time  prove  that,  even  at  the  last,  the  movement 
retained  a  remnant  of  leaders  who  kept  their  first  high 
ideals  and  endeavoured  to  restrain  their  lawless  forces. 
The  following  brief  extracts  from  contemporary  chronicles 
relate  to  the  last  days  of  Li  Hsiu-ch’eng,  with  whose 
death,  after  the  fall  of  Nanking  (July  1864),  the  rebellion 
was  practically  ended.1 

To  this  man,  known  far  and  wide  throughout  Kiangsu 
as  the  “  Patriotic  Prince,”  the  Taiping  rebellion  owed 
much  of  its  original  success,  and  whatever  semblance  of 
orderly  government  it  had  been  able  to  evolve  at  the  Court 
of  the  “  Heavenly  King.”  His  military  genius  was 
undeniable,  and  his  personal  character  entirely  admirable ; 
so  much  so,  that  not  only  was  he  idolised  by  his  soldiers, 
but  by  the  people,  whom  he  protected,  so  far  as  in  him 
lay,  against  oppression.  He  was  a  strict  disciplinarian, 
insisted  on  the  regular  payment  of  the  troops  under  his 

1  For  an  account  of  his  death  at  the  hands  of  Tseng  Kuo-fan,  vide 
the  latter’s  memorial,  China  under  the  Empress  Dowager,  p.  73. 

423 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


command,  and  punished  rape  with  decapitation.  He 
combined  the  qualities  of  a  good  fighting  man  with  a 
gentle  and  pious  nature;  a  conscientious  observer  of  the 
rites  of  his  Buddhistic  faith,  he  gave  liberal  allowances  to 
the  families  of  those  who  had  fallen  in  battle,  and  instituted 
an  annual  service  of  commemorative  masses  on  the  Bud¬ 
dhist  All  Souls’  Day,  at  which  he  was  wont  to  appear  in 
person,  burning  incense  and  joining  in  the  litany  for  the 
dead.  A  brave  fighter  and  a  gentleman.1 

It  was  Li  Hsiu-ch’eng  who  held  Soochow  against 
Gordon’s  army  in  the  winter  of  1863.  Just  before  the 
fall  of  the  city,  in  December,  the  rebel  garrison  and  the 
populace  were  in  desperate  straits.  The  troops  had  had 
no  regular  meals  for  days;  nevertheless,  the  example  of 
Li’s  indomitable  courage  kept  up  their  spirits.  He 
dispatched  one  of  his  officers  with  a  letter,  asking  for  help, 
addressed  to  Hung,  the  “  Heavenly  King,”  at  Nanking. 
His  messenger  was  captured  and  killed  by  the  Imperialists, 
and  his  letter  was  preserved  by  the  officer  into  whose 
hands  it  fell,  who  subsequently — admiring  Li’s  splendid 
courage — sent  copies  of  it  to  his  friends.  The  letter  was 
written  in  a  fine  running  hand,  and  shows  not  only  a 
brave  spirit  but  every  evidence  of  deep  scholarship  : 

“  From  this  beleaguered  city,”  it  reads,  “  I  indite  these 
lines.  Our  provisions  are  exhausted;  in  the  camp,  the 
cooking  pots  are  empty.  The  stove  is  cold  and  there  is 
no  drug  that  can  allay  the  pangs  of  hunger.  Corpses  are 

1  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  President  Yuan  Shih-k’ai  gave  orders 
last  year,  to  the  office  for  conferring  Patents  of  distinction,  to  make  in¬ 
quiry  concerning  the  descendants,  now  surviving,  of  the  Taiping  leaders. 
The  Office  reported  that  the  eldest  son  of  Li  Hsiu-ch’eng,  named 
Li  Cheng-hsiang,  is  now  in  his  fifty-sixth  year.  He  has  forwarded  to 
the  Patent  Office  a  record  of  the  Taiping  rebellion,  written  by  his  father, 
which  is  to  be  incorporated  in  the  official  history  of  China.  Posthumous 
honours  will  probably  be  conferred  upon  Li  Hsiu-ch’eng.  From  this  it 
will  be  seen  that  no  man’s  words  or  deeds  are  ever  finally  condemned 
in  Chinese  history.  The  filial  piety  of  his  descendants,  and  other 
things,  may  serve  in  time  to  rehabilitate  his  character  for  posterity. 

424 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


carved  in  pieces  and  mothers  sell  their  sons  for  food.  For 
many  days  past  we  have  been  shouting  4  Dinner  is  ready  5 
at  meal  times,  so  as  to  deceive  the  enemy  concerning  our 
lack  of  provisions.  Our  plight  is  grievous,  resembling 
that  of  the  turtle  in  the  tureen  :  our  danger  is  as  that  of 
the  tiger  at  bay  upon  the  mountain  precipice.  Your 
Majesty  has  founded  a  new  Empire,  but  if  its  roots  be 
shaken,  the  branches  are  agitated.  Soochow  is  your 
Majesty’s  lower  jaw  :  if  the  lips  perish,  the  teeth  must 
speedily  decay.  As  soon  as  you  have  been  able  to  force 
a  way  through  the  beleaguering  armies  which  invest 
Nanking,  it  behoves  you  to  dispatch  troops  to  our  assist¬ 
ance.  I  send  these  few  lines  beseeching  you  to  take  care 
of  your  health.  Interrupting  the  whetting  of  my  spear, 
I  write  this  message,  earnestly  praying  for  your  welfare.” 

Li  escaped  from  Soochow,  that  city  of  dire  carnage, 
and  lived  to  take  part  in  the  final  act  of  the  great  drama 
when,  at  the  fall  of  Nanking  in  the  following  July,  the 
44  Heavenly  King  ”  met  his  fate.  Li  escaped  from  Nan¬ 
king,  accompanied  only  by  two  lads.  One  of  them  was 
the  second  son  of  the  44  Heavenly  King,”  Hung  Fu-tien, 
and  the  other  was  Li’s  own  page.  Hung  could  not  ride, 
and  soon  got  separated  from  his  companions  (he  was  subse¬ 
quently  captured  by  the  Imperialists).  Li  and  his  page 
hurried  on  in  the  darkness  and  finally  lost  their  way. 
They  were  resting  at  daybreak  on  a  wooded  hill  when  eight 
woodcutters  came  up.  One  of  them  recognised  Li  and 
addressed  him  as  the  Patriotic  Prince.  Li  begged  them  not 
to  betray  him.  44  If  you  can  find  a  way  of  taking  me  safely 
to  Huchou  in  Chekiang,  I  will  give  you  30,000  taels.” 
The  men,  moved  to  tears  at  his  plight,  agreed  to  do  so. 

At  evening  they  descended  the  hill  and  came  to  their 
hamlet  of  Chien  Hsi— 44  West  of  the  Ravine.”  Their 
movements  were  hampered  because  Li  and  his  page  were 
burdened  with  a  quantity  of  jewels,  besides  having  a  pack 
mule  loaded  with  gold  bars  and  pearls.  The  woodcutters 

425 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


hid  them  in  an  inner  room,  and  advised  Li  to  disguise  him¬ 
self  by  shaving  his  head.1  He  refused,  saying  :  “  I  am 
the  subject  of  the  Taiping  dynasty;  our  Empire  is 
overthrown  and  our  Sovereign  dead.  If  I  am  captured 
and  brought  before  the  Manchu  Commander,  my  fate  is 
sealed,  I  know.  But  were  I  to  escape  capture  by  shaving 
my  head,  I  should  be  false  to  the  principles  which  made 
me  a  rebel.” 

One  of  the  woodcutters,  a  man  named  T’ao,  cunning 
and  greedy  by  nature,  longed  to  secure  the  large  reward 
offered  for  Li  by  betraying  him,  but  he  feared  his  com¬ 
panions,  who  were  loyal  to  Li.  So  he  found  a  pretext  to 
go  out,  and  sought  acquaintance  in  the  Manchu  camp  of 
General  Hsiao,  whose  advice  he  asked.  This  man  natur¬ 
ally  informed  one  of  the  General’s  bodyguard  of  Li’s 
presence  in  the  neighbouring  village,  and  the  General, 
on  hearing  the  story,  detained  T’ao,  entertaining  him  with 
food  and  wine,  and  hurriedly  dispatched  a  troop  of  horse¬ 
men  to  arrest  Li.  They  brought  him  back,  and  with  him 
his  treasure,  which  the  General  seized.  Hoping  to  keep 
the  matter  quiet,  he  then  gave  orders  to  have  T’ao  be¬ 
headed,  but  the  man  had  fled;  he  subsequently  fell  a 
victim  to  the  wrath  of  his  companions,  who  killed  him 
for  his  treachery.  The  General  received  high  hereditary 
rank  for  his  capture  of  Li  and  his  treasure,  but  several  of 
his  men  were  slain  by  the  woodcutters,  who,  after  slaugh¬ 
tering  them,  made  sacrifice  to  Li’s  spirit.  Tseng  Kuo-fan 
heard  of  their  doing  so  and  had  them  brought  to  his  head¬ 
quarters.  Boldly  and  frankly  they  confessed  the  truth. 
Tseng,  who  greatly  admired  the  rebel  leader,  praised  their 
loyalty  and  made  them  presents,  which  they  reluctantly 
accepted.  Chinese  chroniclers  deplore  the  fact  that  the 
names  of  these  worthy  woodcutters  have  not  been  recorded. 

The  following  story  describing  the  manner  in  which  the 

1  The  Taipings  discarded  the  tonsure  in  token  of  rebellion  against 
the  Manchu  dynasty. 


426 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


Imperialists  finally  took  Nanking,  goes  to  show  that  there 
was  love  as  well  as  war  in  the  rebel  capital.  When  the 
city  was  completely  invested  by  Tseng  Kuo-fan’s  forces,  the 
key  to  the  position  lay  at  the  “  Islet  of  Nine  Eddies,”  and 
there  Hung  Hsiu-ch’uan,  the  rebel  king,  had  stationed  a 
large  force.  As  soon  as  the  Imperialist  forces  had  cap¬ 
tured  this  islet,  Nanking  was  practically  at  their  mercy. 
Tseng  Kuo-fan  is  usually  credited  with  this  exploit,  but 
the  fact  is  that  one  of  the  rebels  betrayed  the  secret  of  the 
distribution  of  their  forces  and  this  enabled  the  Imperialist 
attack  to  concentrate  on  the  weakest  spot. 

During  the  reign  of  the  “  Heavenly  King  ”  at  Nanking, 
two  civil  service  examinations  were  held,  at  the  second 
of  which  a  Kiangsi  scholar  named  Pu  Ying-ch’i  was  third 
on  the  list.  He  was  an  unusually  handsome  man  and  used 
to  call  himself  a  second  Ch’en  Ping,  after  a  certain  beau 
who  played  a  prominent  part  in  the  foundation  of  the  Han 
dynasty  in  the  second  century  b.c. 

While  the  Palace  examination  was  proceeding,  the 
“  Heavenly  King’s  ”  younger  sister,  Hsuan  Chiao,  watched 
the  candidates  from  behind  a  curtain,  and  was  much  taken 
with  Pu’s  good  looks.  It  was  she  who  induced  her  brother 
to  place  him  third  on  the  list.  When,  in  due  course,  he 
appeared  at  Court  to  return  thanks,  Hung  said  to  him  : 
“You  ought  really  to  thank  the  Divine  Sister,”  and  bade 
a  eunuch  take  him  to  her  presence.  Pu  knelt  before  her, 
and  the  Divine  Sister  held  out  her  hand  to  him,  saying  : 
“  We  shall  often  meet,  for  I  intend  to  secure  you  a  good 
post  at  Court.” 

A  few  days  later  he  was  made  Chamberlain,  and  before 
long  his  relations  with  the  Divine  Sister  became  something 
more  than  brotherly.  The  Divine  Sister  had  a  husband, 
Li  Shao-shen,  who  was  greatly  distressed,  but  feared  to 
interfere  in  her  intrigue. 

Now  it  happened  that  the  “  Prince  of  the  East,”  Yang 
Hsin-ch’eng,  like  all  the  other  rebel  princes,  maintained 

427 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


a  staff  of  ladies  who  served  him  as  majors  domo,  ushers, 
and  in  other  capacities.  One  of  these  women,  the  daughter 
of  a  literary  man,  possessed  great  skill  with  her  pen,  and 
besides  this  was  superior  to  the  Divine  Sister  in  the  matter 
of  good  looks.  She,  too,  became  infatuated  with  the 
handsome  Pu,  and  was  for  ever  inviting  him  to  her 
boudoir.  As  this  liaison  developed,  the  Divine  Sister 
became  exceedingly  jealous,  but  had  to  endure  it,  as  the 
“  Heavenly  King  ”  could  not  afford  to  quarrel  with  the 
“  Prince  of  the  East.”  For  a  time  Pu  played  the  Don 
Juan  with  both  fair  ladies,  but  gradually  became  tired  of 
their  charms,  and,  realising  that  the  Taipings  were  nearing 
the  end  of  their  tether,  he  decided  to  quit  Nanking  by 
stealth,  and  to  try  to  return  to  his  home  in  Kiangsi. 

In  this  attempt  he  was  captured  by  General  Fu  Ssu’s 
men  and,  hoping  to  save  his  life,  said  :  “  I  have  a  secret 
to  communicate.”  Ushered  into  the  General’s  presence, 
he  said  :  “  The  rebels  depend  on  the  Islet  of  Nine  Eddies 
for  their  supplies ;  for  all  their  reinforcements  come  in  by 
that  route.  This  alone  has  enabled  them  to  hold  out  so 
long.  You  will  never  take  Nanking  until  you  capture  the 
islet.  I  have  with  me  a  plan,  upon  which  you  will  see 
marked  the  disposition  of  their  forces  and  the  emplace¬ 
ments  of  their  guns.  One  side  is  practically  impregnable, 
but  there  is  one  spot  which  is  open  to  attack.  Take  them 
unawares  from  that  side  and  you  will  capture  the  position 
as  easily  as  spitting  on  your  fingers.  Once  the  islet  is  in 
your  possession,  their  communications  are  cut  and  they 
will  be  like  rats  in  a  trap.” 

The  Imperialists  acted  on  this  information  and  Nanking 
fell.  Pu  Ying-ch’i  was  rewarded  with  a  lieutenant- 
colonelcy,  but  Chinese  chroniclers,  wTho  seem,  as  a  class, 
disposed  to  sympathise  with  rebels  of  all  kinds,  condemn 
his  action,  unkindly  observing  of  him  that  he  served  two 
dynasties,  one  in  a  civil,  and  the  other  in  a  military, 
capacity. 


428 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


THE  SORROWS  OF  HIS  MAJESTY  KUANG  HSU 

The  personality  of  His  Majesty  Kuang  Hsu  was 
always  so  overshadowed  and  dominated  by  that  of  the 
masterful  Tzii  Hsi,  even  during  the  years  (1889-1898) 
when  he  was  theoretically  in  control  of  the  Government, 
that  his  individual  abilities  and  aspirations  had  little 
scope  to  shape  themselves  to  any  good  purpose ;  and  the 
dynastic  annals,  compiled  under  the  direction  of  the 
“  Old  Buddha,”  treat  him,  generally  speaking,  as  a 
negligible  quantity.  For  although  during  her  years  of 
nominal  retirement,  Tzu  Hsi  divested  herself  of  the  out¬ 
ward  symbols  of  supreme  power,  the  Emperor  himself 
and  all  his  Court  were  well  aware  that  the  final  arbiter 
of  all  important  questions  was  still  the  autocrat  who 
watched  events  from  her  retreat  at  the  Summer  Palace, 
whose  confidential  agents  and  partisans  constituted  the 
dominant  party  in  the  metropolitan  and  provincial 
Yamens.  At  no  time  did  she  surrender  to  the  Emperor 
the  fundamental  authority  to  which  the  official  world 
looked  for  rewards  and  punishments;  in  her  hands  re¬ 
mained  the  appointment  to  all  high  offices,  by  which  means 
she  created  and  strengthened  ties  of  personal  loyalty  to 
herself.  The  Emperor  on  his  Throne  was  a  cipher  in 
the  inner  councils  of  the  State,  which  drew  their  inspira¬ 
tion  from  the  fountain  head  of  all  favours;  of  far  less 
account,  in  the  estimation  of  the  mandarinate,  than  the 
Chief  Eunuch,  Li  Lien-ying.  Except  during  the  hundred 

429 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


days  of  Reform,  which  precipitated  Tzu  Hsi’s  coup  d’etat 
in  1898  and  her  return  to  full  and  undisguised  supremacy, 
the  unfortunate  monarch  was  never  able  to  muster 
courage  or  supporters  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  assert 
himself. 

There  were,  it  is  true,  occasions  when  he  endeavoured  to 
throw  off  the  yoke  and  to  claim  rights  of  independent 
initiative,  especially  during  the  short  time  when  he  relied 
upon  the  influential  support  of  Chang  Yin-huan  and  the 
reform  leaders  at  Peking;  but  his  attempts  were  ever 
doomed  to  spend  themselves  in  futility  against  the  solid 
wall  of  vested  interests  and  privileges  with  which  the 
genius  of  Tzu  Hsi  had  surrounded  him. 

In  January  1894,  before  the  outbreak  of  war  with 
Japan,  His  Majesty’s  mind  was  much  exercised  at  the 
increasing  demoralisation  of  the  public  service,  brought 
about  by  the  Chief  Eunuch’s  shameless  trafficking  in 
Government  appointments  of  all  sorts.  In  this  matter 
he  felt  sure  of  the  sympathies  of  the  best  men  in  the 
public  service,  whose  sense  of  decency  was  undoubtedly 
violated  by  the  outrageous  proceedings  of  Tzu  Hsi’s 
favourite,  and  whose  interests  were  thereby  imperilled. 
The  literati  generally  and  the  bulk  of  conservative  official¬ 
dom  were  becoming  scandalised  by  the  flagrant  venality 
which  sold  offices  without  regard  to  the  qualifications  of 
the  buyer,  so  that  Kuang  Hsii  was  emboldened  to  assert 
himself.  The  following  instance  of  a  case  in  which  he  did 
so,  without  evoking  a  display  of  the  “  Benevolent  Mother’s 
divine  wrath,”  is  instructive. 

When  the  Shanghai  Taot’ai-ship  fell  vacant,  on  Nieh 
Ch’i-kuei’s  promotion  to  a  judgeship,  in  January  1894, 
the  Grand  Councillors  handed  Kuang  Hsii  a  list  of  the 
Taot’ais  eligible  for  preferment  and  asked  His  Majesty 
to  make  a  selection.  The  Emperor  said  nothing,  but 
produced  a  slip  of  paper  from  his  sleeve,  on  which  was 
written  the  name  “  Lu  Po-yang.”  With  a  frown  he 

430 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


handed  it  to  the  Council,  and  told  them  to  report  as  to 
the  man’s  previous  career  and  record.  The  Councillors 
retired  and  investigated  their  files,  but  found  no  such 
name  on  any  of  their  lists.  They  reported  accordingly, 
whereupon  Kuang  Hsu  ordered  that  the  Presidents 
of  the  Boards  of  Civil  Office  and  Revenue  be  summoned, 
and  instructed  to  examine  into  the  matter.  The  Council¬ 
lors  saw  that  the  Emperor  had  received  a  hint  from  Tzu 
Hsi  to  appoint  Lu  Po-yang,  whatever  his  record,  so  they 
tactfully  replied  :  “  If  Your  Majesty  knows  the  man,  it 
would  be  best  to  appoint  him  without  further  investi¬ 
gation.  It  is  possible  that  his  name  is  neither  on  the 
Board  of  Revenue’s  list  nor  on  that  of  the  Civil  Office. 
And  it  would  not  look  well  to  give  him  the  post,  after  we 
had  inquired  and  ascertained  that  he  had  no  claims.” 
Kuang  Hsii  sighed,  and  made  the  appointment. 

Not  very  long  afterwards  occurred  the  more  flagrant 
case  of  Yii  Ming.  This  man  was  a  Manchu  attached  to 
the  Imperial  Household  :  he  had  never  held  any  official 
post,  was  the  head  manager  of  a  large  firm  of  building 
contractors  at  Peking,  and  had  purchased  the  brevet 
rank  of  Sub-prefect.  The  lucrative  post  of  Taot-ai  in 
charge  of  the  Tea  and  Salt  industries  in  Ssu-ch’uan  fell 
vacant,  and  Yii  Ming,  under  pressure  from  Tzu  Hsi,  was 
given  the  position. 

In  due  course  he  appeared  before  the  Emperor  in 
audience  to  return  thanks.  Kuang  Hsii  said  to  him  :  “  In 
which  of  the  Government  Boards  have  you  served  ?  ” 
He  replied  :  “  Your  slave  has  always  been  attached  to 

Kuang  Shun.”  (Kuang  Shun  is  the  name  of  the  very 
wealthy  firm  of  contractors  above  referred  to.)  The 
Emperor  did  not  understand  him  and  repeated  the 
question.  Yii  Ming  replied  :  “  Has  Your  Majesty  never 
heard  of  the  Kuang  Shun  firm  ?  They  are  the  biggest 
contractors  in  the  West  city.  Your  slave  has  been 
manager  there  for  a  long  time.”  The  Emperor  smiled  : 

431 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


“  Oh  !  I  see  :  you  mean  that  you  have  always  been  in 
trade.  Well !  To  be  manager  of  a  big  firm  of  con¬ 
tractors  is  a  highly  lucrative  post.  Why  do  you  want 
to  exchange  it  for  an  official  career?  ”  The  answer  came 
glibly  :  “  Because  I  have  heard  that  the  perquisites  to 
be  made  out  of  this  Tea  and  Salt  Taot’ai-ship  are  worth 
at  least  ten  times  as  much  as  I  can  make  out  of  business.” 

By  this  time  Kuang  Hsu  was  greatly  incensed  at  the 
man’s  effrontery,  but  suppressed  his  wrath  for  the 
moment.  “  Can  you  write  or  speak  Manchu  ?  ”  said  he. 
“  No,  Your  Majesty.”  “  Can  you  write  Chinese?  ”  Yu 
Ming  hesitated  for  a  long  time  and  then  stammered  out  : 
“  Yes.”  The  Emperor  then  threw  some  paper  and  a  pencil 
on  the  ground  and  directed  the  eunuch  in  attendance  to 
take  Yii  Ming  outside.  “  Go  and  write  out  a  statement 
of  your  official  career  on  the  steps  outside  the  hall,  where 
I  can  see  you.” 

After  a  very  long  interval  Yii  Ming  re-entered  the  hall 
of  audience  and  handed  the  paper  to  the  Emperor.  All 
he  had  written  was  :  “  Your  slave,  Yii  Ming,  Manchu  of 
the  striped  Yellow  Banner.”  The  characters  were  the 
size  of  tea  cups  (etiquette  requires  that  for  presentation 
to  the  Throne  they  should  be  small  and  exquisitely  formed 
in  round  hand).  Yii  Ming’s  writing  sprawled  all  over 
the  page,  was  hardly  legible,  and  one  of  the  two  simple 
characters  comprising  his  name  was  wrong. 

At  this  the  Emperor  flew  into  a  passion  :  “You  may 
keep  your  former  brevet  as  Sub-prefect,”  he  said,  “  and 
await  your  turn  for  promotion.”  (This  meant  that  he 
was  relegated  from  the  high  position  of  Taot’ai-elect  to 
that  of  an  expectant  of  low  rank,  who  would  most  likely 
never  get  a  position  at  all.)  “  I  hereby  appoint  Chang 
Yuan-p’u  to  the  post  :  let  the  Council  report  immedi¬ 
ately.”  Thus  did  Kuang  Hsu  for  once  defy  Tzu  Hsi. 

The  chronicler  relates  that  Yii  Ming  returned  to  his 
business  as  a  contractor  and,  with  the  help  of  Li  Lien- 

432 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


ying,  made  a  great  deal  of  money  out  of  a  contract  for  the 
building  of  a  shrine  in  memory  of  Prince  Ch’un,  Kuang 
Hsii’s  father.  Having  46  squeezed  ”  large  profits  out  of 
this  lucrative  work,  he  proceeded  to  bribe  the  eunuchs 
in  the  employ  of  the  young  Prince  Ch’un  (subsequently 
the  Regent)  to  steal  and  sell  to  him  jewels  and  curios 
from  the  Prince’s  residence.  He  was  found  out,  and  the 
Emperor  ordered  his  arrest,  but  he  contrived  to  escape  by 
shaving  his  head  and  becoming  a  priest.  He  found  shelter 
at  a  temple  of  the  Western  hills,  and  was  well  known  to 
several  foreigners  there  some  years  ago.  Eventually  he 
was  ejected  from  the  priesthood  on  account  of  a  scandal 
in  connection  with  a  lady  of  high  degree  at  Peking.  As 
for  Lu  Po-yang,  the  Taot’ai-elect  of  Shanghai,  the  in¬ 
corruptible  Nanking  Viceroy,  Liu  K’un-yi,  who  knew  of 
his  disreputable  antecedents,  refused  to  allow  him  to  take 
up  the  post,  and  impeached  him  on  a  charge  of  bribery. 
He  was  dismissed  from  office,  and  the  700,000  taels  which 
he  had  paid  to  Li  Lien-ying  (to  be  divided  between  the 
eunuch  and  his  Imperial  mistress)  were  money  wasted, 
for  he  never  occupied  the  post.  In  disgust  with  public 
life,  he  too  became  a  Taoist  priest.  So  that  Kuang  Hsii’s 
firm  stand  was  justified  by  results,  and  Tzu  Hsi  gave  no 
sign  of  disapproval. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  his  unfortunate  Majesty 
was  entirely  without  friends  and  counsellors  :  there  were 
many  at  Court  who  hated,  while  they  feared,  the  regime 
of  the  grasping  Chief  Eunuch  and  his  imperious  mistress. 
But  her  hand  lay  heavy  upon  them,  and  though  the  atmo¬ 
sphere  of  the  metropolis  does  occasionally  breed  heroism 
in  the  orthodox  mandarin,  it  is  usually  of  the  valedictory 
death- scene  order  rather  than  the  kind  which  displays 
itself  steadily  in  every-day  routine.  Those  whose  sym¬ 
pathies  were  with  the  Emperor,  and  those  who  regarded 
the  Empress  Dowager’s  continued  usurpation  of  the 
supreme  power  as  dangerous  to  the  Empire,  endeavoured 
ff  433 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


(timorously  enough)  to  persuade  the  Old  Buddha  by 
constitutional  procedure  to  relax  something  of  her  firm 
grip  upon  State  affairs. 

To  give  one  instance.  Early  in  1896,  when  the  Empress 
Dowager  was  en  retraite  at  the  Summer  Palace,  the 
Censor  Wang  P’eng-yiin  put  in  a  memorial  of  remon¬ 
strance  against  the  Emperor’s  repeated  visits  to  the 
Summer  Palace  to  pay  his  respects  to  Tzu  Hsi.  He  said  : 
“  These  journeys  to  and  fro  waste  most  of  the  day  and 
distract  His  Majesty’s  attention  from  State  affairs. 
Every  few  days  he  leaves  the  Palace  before  dawn  and  does 
not  return  to  Peking  till  dusk.  Should  the  Emperor 
contract  an  illness  from  chill  or  fatigue,  no  one  would  be 
more  sorry  than  the  kindly  Mother.  I  therefore  venture 
to  recommend  that  the  Emperor  should  attend  to  his 
duties  and  not  waste  time  in  these  ceremonial  excursions.” 

The  real  meaning  of  this  memorial  was  that  the  Emperor 
was  far  too  much  under  Tzu  Hsi’s  control  and  afraid  to 
take  any  important  step  without  her  approval;  in  other 
words,  Wang  desired  to  see  Kuang  Hsii  emancipated  from 
petticoat  government.  As  it  happened,  the  Old  Buddha 
was  at  the  time  in  one  of  her  good-humoured  and  lenient 
moods;  had  she  not  been  so,  this  memorial  might  well 
have  cost  the  Censor  dear.  Only  a  month  before,  a 
eunuch  named  K’ou  had  been  summarily  beheaded  for 
venturing  to  advise  the  Emperor  to  select  his  own  staff 
of  personal  attendants,  so  as  to  avoid  the  constant  espion¬ 
age  of  the  Empress  Dowager.  Since  then  the  Grand 
Council  had  gone  in  daily  terror  for  fear  that  some  Censor 
should  denounce  this  execution  or  impeach  the  Old 
Buddha;  when  therefore,  Wang  P’eng-yiin’s  memorial 
reached  them,  they  were  much  perturbed.  Prince  Kung 
and  Li  Hung-tsao  discussed  it  anxiously.  Li  remarked  : 
“  Truly,  we  should  be  thoroughly  ashamed  of  ourselves, 
when  a  small  official  ventures  to  speak  out  thus  openly 
against  the  Old  Buddha,  while  none  of  us  have  dared  to 

431 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


criticise  her  in  any  way.  Let  us  try,  at  least,  to  shield 
him  from  any  serious  consequences.  When  Your  High¬ 
ness  is  received  in  audience  by  His  Majesty,  you  must 
think  of  some  way  whereby  the  Emperor  may  pacify  Her 
Majesty  or  else  suppress  the  memorial.”  Prince  Kung 
agreed,  but  observed  that  the  suppression  of  the  memorial 
would  be  difficult.  When  summoned  to  audience  he 
handed  up  the  memorial  to  Kuang  Hsii,  who  after 
perusing  it  said  :  “  Her  Majesty  will  certainly  demand  his 
execution.  What  do  you  advise  ?  ”  Kung  repeated  what 
Li  had  said.  “  That’s  all  very  well,”  replied  the  Emperor, 
“  but  do  you  forget  that  K’ou  was  decapitated  the  other 
day  for  criticism  far  less  outspoken?”  Prince  Kung 
answered  :  “A  eunuch  has  no  right  to  memorialise  at  all 
nor  to  interfere  in  affairs  of  State.  In  putting  him  to  death 
Her  Majesty  was  only  acting  in  accordance  with  dynastic 
house-law.  But  a  Censor  is  entitled  to  criticise  without 
restriction  and  his  person  is— or  should  be — inviolable.” 

Kuang  Hsii  sighed  :  “  Do  not  think  that  I  wish  to 
restrict  their  criticisms,  but  you  know  how  I  stand.  I 
fear  that  Her  Sacred  Majesty  will  be  greatly  incensed  when 
she  sees  this  document.  Present  it  I  must,  for  if  I  did 
not  she  would  surely  hear  about  it.  I  think  that  you  had 
best  discuss  the  situation  again  with  Li  Hung-tsao.  At 
least  you  can  stop  the  presentation  of  any  further 
memorials  of  this  kind.” 

Prince  Kung  retired  and,  with  Li’s  help,  drafted  a 
memorial  in  which  the  following  passage  occurred  :  “  The 
Censor  is  greatly  daring  when  he  raises  such  questions, 
but  his  action  is  actuated  by  a  misguided  sense  of  loyalty 
and  not  by  any  radically  evil  propensities.  We  have 
carefully  perused  his  memorial  and  find  therein  no  treason¬ 
able  matter  nor  anything  derogatory  to  Your  Majesty’s 
beneficent  virtue.  We  therefore  implore  Your  Majesty 
to  forgive  him.”  Kuang  Hsii  then  left  for  audience  at 
the  Summer  Palace,  taking  the  two  memorials,  which 

435 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


he  submitted,  meekly  kneeling,  to  Tzu  Hsi.  The  Old  Bud¬ 
dha,  who  was  in  a  particularly  good  temper  that  morning, 
read  the  documents  and  then  said  with  a  smile  :  “You 
seem  dreadfully  nervous  about  this  effusion,  but  there  is 
really  not  the  slightest  reason  for  you  to  fear  that  I  should 
be  displeased.  I  welcome  criticism  from  the  Censors  : 
that  is  what  they  exist  for.” 

On  returning  to  the  Forbidden  City,  Kuang  Hsii  said 
to  Prince  Kung  :  “  On  this  occasion  Her  Majesty  has  taken 
a  lenient  view,  but  I  am  sure  that  if  the  subject  ever  comes 
up  again  in  a  memorial,  not  only  will  its  author  be  be¬ 
headed,  but  Wang,  who  now  escapes,  thanks  to  the  Old 
Buddha’s  good  humour,  will  also  suffer  death.” 

Nevertheless  Tzu  Hsi  took  the  hint  which,  after  all, 
was  reasonable  enough,  and  thereafter  required  fewer  visits 
from  the  Emperor,  besides  which  she  arranged  matters 
so  that  he  could  get  back  to  Peking  at  an  earlier  hour. 

At  the  time  of  the  coup  d’etat,  many  of  the  friends  of 
the  Reformers  wondered  how  the  Old  Buddha  had  so 
swiftly  possessed  herself  of  all  the  details  of  K’ang  Yu- wei’s 
plot  and  the  names  of  his  confederates.  The  explanation 
is  as  follows  :  For  some  days  before  Tzu  Hsi’s  coup 
detat  the  Emperor,  realising  the  hostility  of  the  reaction¬ 
aries  to  K’ang  Yu-wei,  had  ceased  from  calling  him  to 
audience.  Instead  he  made  use  of  the  reformer  Lin  Hsii, 
who  transmitted  messages  to  and  from  K’ang.  He  spoke 
with  such  a  strong  Fukhien  accent  that  the  Emperor  had 
difficulty  in  following  him,  and  therefore  directed  him  to 
write  down  everything  of  importance  and  leave  the 
memoranda  with  him  for  subsequent  perusal. 

A  week  before  the  fatal  5th  day  of  the  8th  Moon,  the 
Old  Buddha  suddenly  came  in,  unannounced,  from  the 
Summer  Palace  to  pay  the  Emperor  a  surprise  visit,  and 
see  what  he  was  about.  It  was  only  when  she  had 
actually  reached  the  West  Gate  of  the  city  that  an  out¬ 
rider  was  sent  on  ahead  to  inform  the  Emperor,  so  that 

436 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


he  might  hasten  to  the  entrance  of  the  Western  Palace 
and  welcome  Her  Majesty,  as  usual,  on  his  knees. 

Kuang  Hsii  and  Lin  Hsu  were  discussing  matters  in  the 
Palace  of  Heavenly  Purity,  when  a  eunuch  rushed  in  and 
said  :  “  The  Old  Buddha  will  be  here  in  twenty  minutes. 
I  have  ordered  your  chair  for  you  to  go  and  meet  her.” 
The  Emperor  hurriedly  bade  Lin  Hsii  gather  up  his  papers 
and  leave  the  Palace,  while  he  himself  proceeded  to  meet 
the  Empress.  Unfortunately  Lin  Hsii,  in  a  great  state 
of  nervousness  and  fear,  was  so  anxious  to  get  away  before 
the  Empress’s  eunuchs  should  see  him,  that  in  his  haste 
he  accidentally  dropped  the  most  important  of  all  his 
documents,  one  in  which  he  had  outlined  the  plan  for 
surrounding  the  Summer  Palace  and  seizing  the  person 
of  Tzu  Hsi.  This  paper  was  picked  up  by  one  of  Li 
Lien-ying’s  henchmen  and  handed  by  the  Chief  Eunuch 
to  Her  Majesty.  It  was  the  death  warrant  of  the 
Reformers. 

For  the  next  two  years,  Kuang  Hsii  was  virtually  a 
prisoner  and  treated  by  the  Old  Buddha  and  Li  Lien-ying 
with  studied  rudeness  and  neglect.  He  became  afflicted 
with  a  deep,  chronic  melancholy,  fully  aware,  during  the 
period  of  his  solitary  confinement,  that  his  life  hung  upon 
a  thread,  at  the  mercy  of  the  Old  Buddha’s  cold-blooded 
policies  and  vengeful  moods.  After  the  coup  d’etat,  Tzu 
Hsi  used  frequently  to  visit  her  wretched  nephew  in  his 
lonely  pavilion  prison  on  the  “  Ocean  Terrace,”  and 
would  calmly  announce  to  him  the  arrangements  she 
proposed  to  make  after  his  decease,  which,  as  he  well 
knew,  was  being  planned  with  all  due  regard  to  precedent 
and  decorum.1  Knowing  his  proudly  sensitive  nature, 
she  would  taunt  him  with  the  illegality  of  his  succession 
to  the  Throne  (her  own  doing)  and  declare  that  his  reign 
would  be  recorded  in  the  dynastic  annals  as  an  inter¬ 
regnum,  as  was  done  in  the  case  of  a  similarly  unfortunate 
1  Vide  China  under  the  Empress  Dowager,  p.  212. 

437 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


monarch,  named  Ching  Tai,  of  the  Ming  dynasty  (1450- 
1457). 

Kuang  Hsii  took  a  melancholy  interest  in  the  history 
of  his  prototype,  on  which  he  used  to  meditate  for  hours. 
There  were  indeed  many  curious  features  of  resemblance 
between  the  Ming  Emperor’s  destiny  and  his  own.  Ching 
Tai  had  been  placed  upon  the  Throne  by  command  of 
the  Empress  Dowager  of  that  day,  in  the  place  of  his 
elder  brother,  who  had  been  carried  into  captivity  by  the 
Mongols.  He  was  treacherously  murdered  by  eunuchs, 
whilst  performing  sacrifice.  His  reign  w'as  expunged  from 
the  dynastic  annals  (though  eventually  restored),  and  his 
body  was  buried,  not  in  the  Imperial  mausolea  to  the 
north  of  Peking,  but  in  a  comparatively  humble  grave  at 
a  site  adjoining  the  Summer  Palace. 

After  his  release  from  solitary  confinement,  and  when 
the  Old  Buddha’s  heart  had  been  somewhat  softened  to¬ 
wards  him  by  their  common  misfortunes  after  the  flight 
from  Peking  in  1900,  Kuang  Hsii  maintained  his  melan¬ 
choly  devotion  to  the  memory  of  Ching  Tai.  From  a 
window  of  the  Summer  Palace  he  could  see  the  grave  of 
his  luckless  predecessor,  and  lamenting  its  neglected  state, 
he  persuaded  one  of  his  eunuchs  to  plant  new  pine  trees 
about  it  and  to  repair  the  pillars  of  the  main  hall  of 
sacrifice.  But  he  bade  the  eunuch  take  care  that  the 
Old  Buddha  should  not  know  by  whose  orders  these  things 
were  done.  If  she  knew  it  was  the  Emperor’s  doing,  she 
would,  no  doubt,  be  angry  :  if  discovered,  the  eunuch 
was  to  say  he  was  “  acquiring  merit  ”  at  his  own  expense, 
and  Tzu  Hsi  would  probably  praise  his  virtuous  conduct. 
But  every  one  at  Court  knew  of  Kuang  Hsii’s  pathetic 
interest  in  the  fate  of  Ching  Tai,  so  much  so,  that  after 
his  death  in  1908,  Chang  Chih-tung  cynically  proposed  to 
the  Regent  to  give  him  the  posthumous  title  of  Ching 
(Illustrious)  in  commemoration  of  this  interesting  affinity. 

Towards  the  end  of  Kuang  Hsii’s  mysterious  and  fatal 

438 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


illness,  in  November  1908,  he  suddenly  displayed  an 
unusual  initiative  and  independence  of  mind.  On  the 
11th  of  November,  two  days  before  his  death,  he  arose 
from  his  couch  and  expressed  his  intention  of  presenting 
himself  at  Tzu  Hsi’s  bedside,  to  inquire  after  her  health. 
The  dynastic  annals  record  his  pious  solicitude  for  Her 
Sacred  Majesty,  but  the  real  incentive  was  probably  his 
desire  to  verify  for  himself  the  fact  that  his  relentless 
oppressor  was  mortally  stricken.  The  effort,  whatever 
its  motive,  was  too  much  for  him,  and  he  collapsed  after 
walking  a  few  steps.  His  eunuchs  carried  him  to  a  couch 
on  the  south  side  of  his  bedroom,  from  which  he  never 
rose  again. 

On  the  10th  of  November,  when  Dr.  Chou  was  sum¬ 
moned  to  advise  on  the  state  of  His  Majesty’s  health,  he 
was  amazed  at  the  evidences  of  neglect  which  he  found 
in  the  mean  equipment  and  general  squalor  of  His 
Majesty’s  apartment.  It  was  heated  by  means  of  one 
of  the  common  white-clay  stoves  which  are  to  be  found 
in  the  poorest  houses  in  North  China,  things  that  cost  a 
few  pence  and  emit  noxious  fumes  of  charcoal  gas.  His 
bedding  was  meagre  and  coarse,  of  the  kind  a  shop 
apprentice  might  use.  There  were  a  few  historical  books 
by  his  bedside,  but  no  ornaments  or  comforts  of  any 
kind;  the  yellow  tablecloth  was  dirty  and  had  evidently 
not  been  changed  for  months.  When,  after  his  death, 
his  coffin  was  borne  to  the  Western  tombs,  to  be  deposited 
in  a  temporary  shelter  pending  the  building  of  his  mauso¬ 
leum,  the  articles  which  he  had  had  in  daily  use  were 
carried,  as  custom  requires,  in  the  funeral  procession,  and 
it  was  observed  by  the  populace  that  they  were  no  better 
than  those  of  the  ordinary  shopkeeper’s  household.  There 
was  no  money  wasted  on  the  Son  of  Heaven  under  the 
administration  of  the  insolent  Chief  Eunuch,  Li  Lien-ying. 

From  his  death-bed,  the  Emperor  addressed  a  last 
request  to  the  Old  Buddha,  which  showed  how  vividly 

439 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


the  tragic  events  of  1900  had  impressed  themselves  upon 
his  mind,  and  how  steadfastly  he  cherished  the  memory 
of  the  one  woman  who  had  cheered  his  unhappy  life 
with  affection  and  loyalty.  This  was  the  “  Pearl  Concu¬ 
bine,”  murdered  by  order  of  the  Empress  Dowager  on  the 
morning  of  the  flight  from  the  Palace,  after  the  entry  of 
the  allied  armies  into  Peking.  The  hand  that  sent  this 
loyal  soul  to  her  doom  was  the  hand  of  Li  Lien-ying,  who 
threw  her  into  the  well,  but  the  man  who  had  poisoned 
the  Empress’s  mind  against  her,  and  who  was  therefore 
chiefly  responsible  for  her  death,  was  a  eunuch  named 
Tsui.  This  wretch  had  hurled  stones  down  the  well  upon 
the  victim  of  his  malignant  intrigues  and  had  mocked  the 
Emperor  in  his  grief.  Kuang  Hsii  had  not  forgotten  or 
forgiven,  and  at  the  last  he  sought  to  be  revenged  on  one 
who  had  added  insults  to  the  deadliest  injuries.  He  asked 
the  Old  Buddha  that  the  eunuch  Tsui  might  be  dismissed 
from  the  Palace  and  all  his  vast  fortune  confiscated.  Even 
then,  remembering  Her  Majesty’s  ultra-sensitiveness  in 
matters  where  her  supreme  authority  was  concerned,  he 
avoided  all  direct  reference  to  tragic  events  of  which,  he 
believed,  she  had  repented,  and  requested  the  eunuch’s 
punishment  on  the  ground  that  “  he  was  planning  treason 
against  Her  Majesty’s  person.”  His  wish  was  granted 
(Tsui’s  fortune  was  probably  an  important  factor  in  the 
decision),  and  on  the  day  of  Kuang  Hsii’s  death,  the  eunuch 
was  ignominiously  driven  from  the  Palace. 

Many  were  the  slights  and  indignities  placed  upon  the 
miserable  monarch  by  these  “  rats  and  foxes  ”  of  the 
Palace,  who  seemed  to  delight  in  wounding  his  sensitive 
nature.  Li  Lien-ying  invariably  checked  the  Empress 
Dowager  in  any  kind  impulse  of  compassion  towards  him 
by  representing  the  Emperor  as  persistently  disrespectful 
to  herself. 

When  the  Emperor  was  confined  by  the  Old  Buddha’s 
orders  at  the  Ocean  Terrace,  which  was  connected  with 

440 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


the  rest  of  the  Palace  by  a  single  drawbridge  that  spanned 
the  surrounding  narrow  lake,  he  practically  saw  no  one 
excepting  the  two  or  three  eunuchs  appointed  to  watch 
over  him.  Even  his  wife  and  other  ladies  of  the  Palace 
were  seldom  allowed  to  come  near  him,  and  the  Old 
Buddha’s  occasional  visits  were  hardly  calculated  to  cheer 
him.  His  apartments  were  untidily  kept  and  scantily 
furnished ;  even  the  bamboo  screens  were  usually  in 
tatters  and  the  paper  windows  in  holes.  When  the  electric 
light  was  installed  in  the  Palace  only  the  Emperor’s  rooms 
were  not  connected.  The  Imperial  Household  officials 
took  their  cue  from  the  Old  Buddha,  and  knew  better  than 
to  show  concern  for  the  Emperor’s  comfort.  On  one 
occasion,  Kuang  Hsu  asked  Chi  Lu,  a  Chamberlain  of  the 
Household,  to  get  him  some  new  bamboo  screens  to  replace 
his  old  ones  which  were  dropping  to  pieces.  Chi  Lu  did 
so.  Next  morning  the  eunuchs  in  attendance  on  Her 
Majesty  took  pleasure  in  informing  him  that  the  Old 
Buddha  had  been  graciously  pleased  to  present  fine  sable 
robes  to  all  her  other  Chamberlains,  whilst  on  him  she 
had  bestowed  a  foreign  dog.  This  gentle  hint,  typical 
of  Tzu  Hsi’s  way  of  doing  things,  effectually  checked  any 
further  attempts  on  the  part  of  Chi  Lu  to  make  things 
easier  or  pleasanter  for  poor  Kuang  Hsu.  It  is  only  fair 
to  say,  however,  that  after  the  return  from  Hsian  he  was 
better  served,  and  was  eventually  allowed  to  have  his 
own  attendants  about  him,  and  certain  benefits  from  the 
Privy  Purse. 


441 


CHAPTER  XIX 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  BOXER  YEAR  (1900) 

The  inner  history  of  the  Court  of  Peking  during  the 
height  of  the  Boxer  crisis  and  the  siege  of  the  Legations 
was  fully  narrated  in  the  diary  of  His  Excellency  Ching 
Shan,  published  for  the  first  time  in  China  under  the 
Empress  Dowager  in  1910.  Since  then,  the  observations 
of  Europeans  who  went  through  that  siege,  and  the 
criticisms  of  Chinese  apologists  on  the  subject,  have 
confirmed  the  opinion  tfyat  Ching  Shan  was  not  only  well- 
informed  but  remarkably  accurate  in  his  record  of  those 
stirring  days.  Until  the  abdication  of  the  Manchus,  it 
was  almost  impossible  to  obtain  authoritative  evidence 
confirmatory  of  Ching  Shan’s  sensational  revelations. 
Tzu  Hsi’s  successor  as  Empress  Dowager,  Her  Majesty 
Lung  Yii,  by  whose  orders  a  special  Chinese  translation 
was  made  of  China  under  the  Empress  Dowager,  forbade 
the  vernacular  press  from  publishing  any  reference  to  a 
work  which,  naturally  enough,  she  regarded  as  lese 
majeste  of  the  worst  description.  Since  the  inauguration 
of  the  Republic,  however,  the  writings,  public  and  private, 
of  many  Chinese  and  Manchus  have  thrown  no  little  light 
on  the  principal  events  of  the  reign  of  Tzu  Hsi,  and  indeed 
on  the  history  of  the  dynasty.  Making  all  due  allowance 
for  the  Oriental  failing,  common  to  most  Chinese  annalists, 
of  believing  and  recording  evil  of  those  in  high  places, 
there  is  much  in  these  fugitive  papers  which  serves 
to  amplify  and  to  check  our  knowledge  of  important 
details. 


442 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


The  most  significant  feature  common  to  all  these  docu¬ 
ments  lies  in  their  tacit  acceptance  of  the  fact  that  a  time 
of  political  chaos  implies  the  wreaking  of  vengeance  for 
private  grudges  by  whichever  party  happens  to  be  pos¬ 
sessed  of  the  balance  of  power  at  any  given  moment. 
The  Old  Buddha’s  acceptance  of  the  Boxers’  programme 
of  “  driving  the  hated  foreigner  into  the  sea  ”  was  used 
by  the  leading  Boxer  politicians— Prince  Tuan,  Hsii 
T’ung  and  Kang  Yi— not  so  much  for  the  furtherance  of 
that  policy  and  the  good  of  the  State,  as  for  the  casti¬ 
gation  of  their  personal  enemies  and  rivals.  Even  when 
the  allies  were  at  the  very  gates  of  Peking,  the  thoughts 
of  these  men  were  directed  less  towards  the  defence  of 
their  city  and  their  sovereign  than  towards  revenge  on 
their  political  opponents.  The  grim  drama  of  human 
passions  which  was  enacted  around  the  Dragon  Throne 
during  those  days  of  terror  is  made  grimmer  by  the  fact 
that  those  who  describe  it  regard  it  as  a  matter  of  course, 
unconscious  of  all  it  implies  in  the  history,  past  and 
future,  of  their  country. 

Before  dealing  with  some  of  the  most  noteworthy 
incidents  in  this  drama,  we  may  take  from  the  diary  of 
a  Manchu  official  the  following  account  of  the  vicious 
profligacy  which  characterised  the  Princes  and  nobles 
of  the  Imperial  Clan  long  before  they  became  leaders  of 
the  Boxer  movement.  The  author  heads  his  reminiscences  : 
“  Signs  of  a  Decaying  Dynasty.” 

“  It  has  ever  been  the  case  in  Chinese  history,”  he  says, 
“  that  whenever  a  dynasty  has  lost  its  virility  and  ex¬ 
hausted  the  mandate  of  Heaven,  its  Princes  and  nobles, 
becoming  effete  and  addicted  to  luxurious  and  unnatural 
vices,  must  be  for  ever  seeking  some  new  and  strange  way 
of  gratifying  their  jaded  appetites.  In  the  years  before 
the  Boxer  outbreak,  the  young  Manchu  aristocrats  of 
Peking  used  to  amuse  themselves  by  dressing  themselves 
as  beggars  and  parading  the  streets  in  this  guise.  I 

443 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


cannot  say  who  started  this  fashion,  but  it  became  quite 
the  rage.  Every  young  Prince  would  endeavour  to  sur¬ 
pass  his  fellows  in  a  thoroughly  realistic  imitation  of  a  true 
beggar’s  disguise.  At  first  the  craze  was  confined  to  the 
highest  Manchus,  but,  as  might  be  expected,  it  soon 
found  imitators  among  the  sons  of  Chinese  in  high  places. 
Prominent  amongst  them  were  the  grandsons  of  the 
powerful  Board  President,  Pi  Tung-ho.  To-day  this 
family  is  fallen  upon  evil  days,  and  its  fate  is  well  deserved. 

“  I  remember  particularly  one  occasion,  during  the  dog- 
days  of  1892.  It  was  a  very  hot  day,  and  some  friends  had 
invited  me  to  join  them  in  an  excursion  to  the  Kiosque 
and  Garden  known  as  ‘  Beautiful  Autumn  Hillock,’  just 
outside  the  south-west  gate  of  the  Southern  city.  The 
place  is  also  called  the  Brick  Kiln  Terrace;  it  consists 
of  a  hillock  about  forty  feet  high,  on  top  of  which  there 
is  a  wide  level  space  of  about  a  quarter  of  an  acre  in  extent. 
This  spot  is  well  shaded  by  Jail  willows  and  poplars,  and 
in  the  middle  there  is  a  pond,  where  water-lilies  and 
rushes  grow.  There  are  no  houses  about  it,  so  the  place 
is  delightfully  cool,  and  visitors  can  take  their  tea  quietly 
at  the  open-air  restaurant,  while  enjoying  the  pleasant  and 
busy  scene.  Pedlars  and  wine-sellers  come  here  to  ply 
their  trade,  acrobats  and  conjurors  perform  to  earn  a  few 
cash  from  the  idle  rich,  and  there  are  strolling  musicians. 
There  are  also  sheltered  nooks  for  the  comfort  of  visitors, 
so  that  one  might  fancy  oneself  in  the  heart  of  the  country. 

“  At  the  table  next  us  sat  a  young  man  of  about  eighteen  : 
his  face  was  as  black  as  soot  and  he  looked  thin  and  ill- 
nourished.  His  queue  was  plaited  round  his  head  and  he 
had  inserted  a  bone  hairpin  in  his  hair,  after  the  manner 
of  the  Peking  hooligan  class  in  summer  time.  He  wore 
no  socks  and  was  stripped  to  the  waist.  His  only  garment 
was  a  very  shabby  pair  of  short  trousers,  which  hardly 
reached  to  the  knee,  all  covered  with  grease  and  mud,  and 
badly  torn  :  in  fact,  he  was  scarcely  decent.  He  wore  a 

444 


The  Return  from  the  Wilderness.  Insignia  Bearers  following  the  Rearguard. 

Peking,  January  7,  1902. 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


pair  of  dilapidated  grass  slippers,  through  which  his  toes 
protruded. 

“  Strange  to  say,  this  miserable-looking  beggar  had  on 
his  right  thumb  a  large  ring  of  green  jade  worth  at  least 
500  taels  (say  at  that  time  £80) ;  and  he  carried  a  beautiful 
and  very  costly  carved  fan  with  a  jade  handle.  He  sat, 
with  legs  crossed,  on  the  ground,  drinking  wine.  His 
conversation  was  full  of  vulgar  oaths  and  the  lowest 
Pekingese  slang.  I  noticed,  however,  that  the  waiters 
showed  him  a  very  particular  and  eager  attention  and 
hardly  ever  left  his  side.  To  their  other  patrons  their 
behaviour  was  very  different,  being  somewhat  offhand 
and  brusque.  I  was  lost  in  bewilderment  at  this  spectacle, 
wondering  what  it  meant,  when  the  sun  began  to  sink 
behind  the  western  hills  and  the  guests  to  leave.  All  of 
a  sudden  I  observed  the  arrival  of  a  smart  official  cart 
with  red  wheels  set  far  back,1  and  a  train  of  some  twenty 
well-groomed  attendants.  I  then  realised  the  truth  and 
awaited  developments  with  some  curiosity.  Two  officials 
came  up  the  hillock,  both  wearing  the  button  of  the  third 
rank  and  peacock’s  feather.  They  were  evidently  officers 
of  the  bodyguard;  one  of  them  carried  a  hatbox  and  a 
bundle  of  clothes,  while  the  other  held  a  basin  and  ewer 
They  approached  the  young  beggar,  and  reverently  ad¬ 
dressed  him  :  ‘  Your  Highness’s  carriage  is  ready.  You 
have  an  engagement  to  dine  at  Prince  Kung’s  palace  to¬ 
night,  and  we  ought  to  be  starting.’  So  the  young  blood 
got  up,  took  a  towel  and  washed  his  face.  We  were  all 
astonished  at  the  transformation,  and  could  scarcely 
suppress  an  exclamation  of  surprise.  The  dirty  black 
of  his  face  had  been  replaced  by  a  delicate  white  com¬ 
plexion,  and  though  thin,  he  had  the  distinctive  features 
of  the  Manchu  Princes.  We  perceived  that  he  had  daubed 
his  face  with  charcoal. 

1  A  type  of  vehicle  which  could  only  be  used  by  persons  of  very 
high  rank. 


445 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


“  He  then  attired  himself  in  his  proper  clothes,  with 
the  jewelled  buttoned  hat  which  Princes  wear,  decorated 
with  the  triple-eyed  peacock’s  feather.  The  two  officers 
humbly  escorted  him  to  his  carriage ;  he  drove  off  and  was 
soon  lost  to  view. 

“  The  head  waiter  then  whispered  to  me  :  ‘  That  was 
the  Beileh,  Tsai  Lien.’  I  replied  in  amazement  :  ‘  What 
does  he  mean  by  such  behaviour?’  4  Oh,’  said  he, 
‘  don’t  you  know  the  latest  craze  of  our  young  Princes 
in  Peking  ?  ’  He  went  on  to  tell  me  how  Prince  Chuang, 
Prince  K’o,  Prince  Tuan,  the  Beilehs  Lien  and  Ying, 
Prince  Ch’ing’s  son  Tsai  Chen,  the  son  of  the  Lieutenant 
General  Ch’i  Hsiu,  Prince  Chuang’s  sons,  Huai-t’a-pu’s 
boys,  and  many  others,  made  a  practice  of  adopting  this 
guise,  and  were  constantly  causing  disturbances  in  houses 
of  ill  fame,  taverns,  etc.,  and  street  rows,  as  the  police 
were  afraid  to  interfere  with  them.  The  Prince  we  saw 
was  comparatively  well  behaved.  k 

“  I  was  horrified  to  hear  this,  and  said  :  ‘  This  surely 
portends  evil  to  our  Empire.  Such  things  occurred  just 
before  the  Sungs  were  finally  defeated  by  the  Mongols 
and  also  at  the  close  of  the  T’ang  dynasty.  History  is 
full  of  such  examples.  Mark  my  words,  China  will  be 
plunged  in  dire  calamities  before  ten  years  have  passed.’ 

“  My  friends  were  all  Manchus  of  the  Imperial  Household, 
in  a  position  to  learn  much  of  the  inner  life  of  the  Court, 
so  I  had  no  doubt  as  to  the  accuracy  of  their  statements. 
My  own  opinion  was  confirmed  in  due  course,  for  eight 
years  later  the  Boxer  outbreak  occurred.  Of  the  several 
Princes  who  had  amused  themselves  by  playing  the 
beggar,  Prince  K’o  was  taken  into  custody  by  the  foreign 
troops  and  set  to  work  at  burying  the  bodies  of  the  dead : 
in  his  mortification  he  committed  suicide.  Huai-t’a-pu 
was  forced  by  the  Russians  to  clean  out  latrines  :  he 
complained  to  the  officers  that  he  was  of  high  rank,  but 
they  only  reviled  him  and  flogged  him  with  a  whip;  he 

446 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


did  not  dare  to  tell  them  of  his  near  kinship  with  the 
Old  Buddha,  lest  his  Boxer  proclivities  should  become 
known  and  a  worse  fate  befall  him.  Eventually  he  also 
took  poison  and  died.  Ch’en  Pi  was  forced  to  pull  a  rick¬ 
sha.  Scions  of  the  Imperial  family,  men  who  had  never 
done  a  day’s  real  work  in  their  lives,  fell  to  tramping  the 
streets  not  as  sham,  but  real,  beggars.  Prince  Tuan  and 
his  brothers  were  either  exiled  or  cashiered  :  Prince 
Chuang  was  permitted  to  commit  suicide.  Ch’i  Hsiu 
perished  by  the  sword  of  the  executioner.  The  hero  of 
our  day’s  outing,  the  Beileh,  Tsai  Lien,  lost  his  title  and 
rank  as  the  result  of  complicity  in  the  Boxer  rising,  and  is 
now  living  in  greatly  straightened  circumstances.  I 
wonder  if  those  who  still  survive  of  that  bright  band  of 
gay  blades  ever  feel  any  impulse  to  play  at  wallowing  in 
the  dung-heaps  of  the  city  with  outcasts  and  beggars  ? 
Perhaps  by  now  their  jaded  appetites  are  sated,  and  in 
their  sober  moments  they  may  even  brood  sorrowfully 
over  the  piteous  decline  of  their  once  proud  Manchu 
dynasty.” 

The  following,  also  from  a  Manchu’s  diary,  explains  how 
it  came  to  pass  that,  after  much  vacillation  and  casting 
about  for  advice,  the  Old  Buddha  finally  decided  on 
defying  the  forces  of  the  Western  world. 

“  At  the  critical  moment  when  the  Taku  ports  were 
taken  (17th  June,  1900)  by  the  foreigners,  the  three  high 
officials  who  led  the  war-party  at  Peking  were  Prince 
Tuan,  Hsu  T’ung  and  Kang  yi.  Prince  Ch’ing  might 
have  voted  against  the  Boxers  had  not  Prince  Tuan  been 
watching  him  closely  :  whereat  he  was  afraid.  Chao 
Shu-ch’iao  could  never  come  to  any  definite  opinion  one 
way  or  the  other.  When  the  news  reached  Peking  that 
the  forts  had  been  taken,  the  Old  Buddha,  sorely  per¬ 
turbed,  sent  for  each  member  of  the  Grand  Council 
separately.  Prince  Ch’ing,  though  not  on  the  Council, 
was  first  asked  for  his  opinion.  True  to  his  crafty  prin- 

447 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


ciples,  he  replied  :  ‘  Peace  or  war,  each  course  presents 
its  advantages,  but  it  must  be  for  Your  Majesty  to  de¬ 
cide.’  ‘  That  is  no  answer  to  my  question,’  retorted  the 
Old  Buddha,  ‘  you  may  go  down  from  the  Presence.’ 
Jung  Lu,  the  next  to  be  summoned,  implored  Her  Majesty 
to  pause  before  taking  action  which  would  irrevocably  end 
the  Manchu  dynasty.  After  being  angrily  rebuked  by 
the  Old  Buddha,  he  gave  place  to  Kang  Yi,  who  advised 
war  to  the  death.  Chao  Shu-ch’iao  was  then  called  in. 
The  Old  Buddha  first  told  him  exactly  what  the  others 
had  said  and  then  observed  :  ‘You  have  held  many 
provincial  posts  ’  (he  had  been  a  Prefect  at  Feng  Yang  in 
Anhui  for  many  years),  ‘  and  have  had  direct  experience 
of  the  conditions  under  which  my  people  live.  In  this 
respect  you  should  be  able  to  gauge  the  situation  better 
than  either  Kang  Yi  or  Jung  Lu,  who  have  never  held 
office  as  magistrates.  I  shall  therefore  decide  in  accord¬ 
ance  with  your  judgment.’  Chao  had  previously  promised 
Jung  Lu  to  vote  against  war,  but  realising  that  the  Old 
Buddha  was  bent  on  hostilities,  he  hesitated  and  finally 
stammered  out  :  ‘  I  hear  that  the  Foreign  Powers  are 
sending  large  armies  to  China;  I  am  afraid  that  a  cam¬ 
paign  is  by  no  means  certain  to  end  in  victory  for  our 
arms ;  nevertheless,  a  pacific  policy  presents  obvious 
difficulties.’  The  Empress  angrily  interrupted  him. 

‘  Are  you  for  peace  or  war  ?  Make  up  your  mind  one 
way  or  the  other  and  tell  me.’  Chao  replied  :  ‘  Your 
Majesty  might  declare  war  to  begin  with,  and  then  if  we 
are  defeated,  it  will  not  be  too  late  to  order  a  cessation 
of  hostilities.  Troops  are  pouring  into  Peking  from  the 
provinces  to  support  Your  Majesty;  but  even  if  we  are 
completely  defeated,  the  foreign  armies  will  never  venture 
to  penetrate  far  into  the  interior .’  This  last  argument 
greatly  impressed  Tzu  Hsi,  who  used  it  in  her  subsequent 
speech  to  the  Ministers  and  Princes  as  a  good  reason  for 
declaring  war.” 


448 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


When,  under  the  Peace  Protocol,  Chao  expiated  his 
comparatively  innocent  part  in  the  Boxer  movement,  the 
Decree  in  which  Tzu  Hsi  recorded  his  sentence  referred 
to  his  vacillation  at  audience ;  but  he  was  ever  a  favourite 
of  hers  and  she  did  her  utmost  to  protect  him  from  the 
death  penalty.1 

Of  the  three  men  who  chiefly  influenced  Tzu  Hsi’s  mind 
and  turned  the  wavering  scales  in  favour  of  war,  Prince 
Tuan,  the  swashbucklering  fanatic,  is  less  interesting  as  a 
type  than  Kang  Yi  and  Hsu  T’ung,  whose  hatred  of 
foreigners  followed  naturally  from  their  conception  of  the 
orthodox  and  patriotic  official’s  duty  to  his  country  and 
himself.  Hsu  T’ung’s  hostility  towards  Europeans  and 
all  their  ways  was  cold-blooded  and  uncompromising,  but 
at  least  it  had  the  merit  of  being  unconcealed.  He  carried 
it,  indeed,  to  an  excess  which  made  him  notorious  in 
Peking  long  before  the  Boxer  outbreak ;  for  several  years 
he  made  it  a  rule  to  leave  his  house  (which  was  on  Legation 
Street)  by  the  side  door  leading  to  the  wall  rather  than 
set  foot  on  the  foreigners’  macadamised  road.  His  son 
Hsu  Ch’eng-yu,  however,  though  by  no  means  friendly  to 
Europeans,  was  in  the  habit  of  taking  foreign  meals  at 
the  local  hotel,  and  was  on  good  terms  with  a  certain 
foreigner  who  lived  next  door  to  the  Grand  Secretary’s 
premises.  It  was  through  this  European’s  kindly  inter¬ 
vention  that  Hsu  was  able  to  escape  from  the  besieged 
Legation  quarter,  and  the  Old  Buddha  fully  intended  to 
reward  the  foreigner  for  his  friendly  act. 

Hsu  T’ung’s  quarters  during  the  next  two  months  were 
at  the  former  residence  of  the  Grand  Secretary,  Pao 
Yiin;  he  went  to  the  Palace  nearly  every  day  and  did 
more  than  any  one,  except  Tuan  and  Kang,  to  persuade 
Her  Majesty  to  place  her  trust  in  the  Boxers. 

When  the  Court  fled  south,  Hsu  would  have  liked  to 
follow  Her  Majesty,  but  a  decree  made  him  Peace  Plenipo- 

1  Vide  China  under  the  Empress  Dowager,  p.  368. 
gg  449 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


tentiary.  His  son,  Hsii  Ch’eng-yu,  then  said  to  his  father  : 
“  Your  Excellency  is  now  over  eighty  years  of  age.  Your 
policy  has  been  an  utter  failure.  What  are  you  waiting 
for,  that  you  still  cling  to  life?  ”  The  old  man  angrily 
rebuked  him  for  this  unfilial  speech.  The  son  retorted  : 
“  Father,  you  have  been  disloyal  to  the  best  interests  of 
the  State.  A  disloyal  minister  cannot  complain  if  he  has 
an  unfilial  son.”  (These  words  were  used  by  Wu  San- 
kuei  to  his  father  in  1644,1  when  the  latter  submitted  to 
the  rebel  Li  Tzu-ch’eng,  who  proclaimed  himself  Emperor 
after  overcoming  and  expelling  the  Mings.)  The  old  man 
meekly  replied  :  “  Do  then  as  you  think  best.”  With 
that,  his  son  led  him  to  a  tree  in  the  garden,  hung  a  rope 
thereon  and  assisted  the  Grand  Secretary  to  commit 
suicide.  His  action  would  have  been  meritorious,  had 
he  seen  fit  to  die  at  the  same  time,  but  he  clung  to  life, 
only  to  be  beheaded  five  months  later. 

When  the  Boxer  madness  was  at  its  height,  Hsii  T’ung, 
who  was  nothing  if  he  was  not  thorough,  used  to  say  to 
his  friends  :  “  Before  we  can  hope  to  drive  these  foreigners 
into  the  sea,  we  must  exterminate  one  Dragon,  two  tigers 
and  thirteen  sheep.”  The  Dragon  was  the  Emperor,  the 
tigers  were  Jung  Lu  and  Li  Hung-chang,  and  the  sheep 
were  the  Yangtsze  Viceroys,  Prince  Ch’ing,  Yuan  Shih- 
k’ai,  Wang  Wen-shao  and  the  other  moderates  at  Peking 
and  the  provincial  capitals. 

Yu  Hsien,  the  “  butcher  ”  Governor  of  Shansi,  on  the 
black  list  of  the  Allies,  was  first  sentenced  to  banishment 
by  Tzu  Hsi,  and  had  proceeded  on  his  way  as  far  as  Lan 
Chou  in  Kansuh,  when  Her  Majesty’s  decree — reluctantly 
issued  under  pressure — reached  Sung  Fan,  the  Viceroy, 
whereby  Yii  Hsien  was  sentenced  to  decapitation.  Sung 
Fan  was  an  old  friend  of  Yii  Hsien,  and  the  day  before 
the  arrival  of  this  decree  had  invited  him  to  a  banquet. 
While  the  feast  was  actually  proceeding,  the  order  from 

1  Vide  supra,  p.  126. 

450 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


the  Old  Buddha  was  brought  to  the  Viceroy,  requiring 
Yii’s  immediate  decapitation.  Sung  Fan  read  it,  changed 
countenance  and  hurriedly  concealed  the  document.  Yii 
asked  permission  to  see  it,  and  on  being  refused,  angrily 
put  down  his  chopsticks  and  announced  his  departure. 
Sung,  seeing  no  help  for  it,  let  him  see  the  decree.  In 
response  to  his  friend’s  expression  of  grief,  Yii  smilingly 
said  :  “  It  is  the  fortune  of  war.  I  am  a  soldier  and  know 
that  you  must  obey  orders.  The  Sovereign  commands, 
what  can  a  Minister  do  but  comply  ?  Our  feast,  however, 
is  a  private  matter ;  my  decapitation  is  your  public 
duty.  Let  us  first  conclude  the  banquet  and  speak  of 
other  things.”  Yii  then  drank  most  immoderately,  took 
leave  of  his  friend  and  spent  the  rest  of  the  day  quietly. 
Next  morning  the  Viceroy  sent  his  guard  to  convey  him 
to  the  place  of  execution,  which  had  been  hung  with 
red  silk,  and  sorrowfully  witnessed  the  beheading  of  his 
friend. 

Kang  Yi,  after  Hsii  T’ung  the  most  determined  fire- 
eater  of  the  war  party,  was  an  ignorant  and  illiterate  bigot, 
a  great  believer  in  magic  and  spells.  His  belief  in  the 
Boxers  was  the  natural  outcome  of  his  puerile  super¬ 
stition  ;  his  favourite  literature  was  the  well-known 
magical  romance,  Feng  Shen  Ch’iian,  a  collection  of  fan¬ 
tastic  legends  which  his  secretaries  had  to  read  aloud  to 
him  almost  daily.  When  serving  on  the  Grand  Council 
he  was  wont  to  say  that  though  possibly  there  really 
were  in  Europe  as  many  nations  as  Russia,  England, 
Germany  and  France,  all  the  rest  of  the  countries  of  which 
foreigners  spoke — Sweden,  Holland,  Austria  and  Spain — 
were  surely  nothing  but  lying  inventions,  intended  to 
intimidate  China. 

On  one  occasion,  in  1894,  on  coming  up  to  Peking  from 
Canton,  where  he  had  been  Governor,  he  recommended 
one  of  his  aides-de-camp  for  a  high  post.  Kuang  Hsii 
asked  what  were  the  nominee’s  qualifications.  Kang  Yi 

451 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


replied  :  “  He  is  my  Huang  T’ien-pa.”  1  Huang  T’ien-pa 
had  been  the  right-hand  man  of  a  certain  magistrate  in 
K’ang  Hsi’s  reign,  and  is  a  legendary  hero  renowned  for 
his  bravery.  Kuang  Hsii  perceived  the  allusion,  but  he 
only  smiled  slightly,  for  he  knew  that  Kang’s  knowledge 
of  history  was  derived  from  plays  and  ghost  stories. 

Looking  back  on  the  Boxer  movement,  and  dispassion¬ 
ately  considering  its  genesis  and  leadership,  the  childish¬ 
ness  of  its  impulses  and  ambitions  assumes  a  pathetic 
aspect,  and,  viewed  in  this  light,  the  penalties  imposed 
on  China  by  the  European  powers  appear  to  have  been 
lacking  in  sympathetic  recognition  of  many  fundamental 
facts.  One  of  the  chief  Boxer  leaders,  for  instance,  one 
of  those  who  misled  thousands  of  comparatively  innocent 
human  beings  to  their  doom,  was  a  woman,  originally  a 
low-class  courtesan  of  Tientsin,  who  was  known  as  “  The 
Yellow  Lotus  Holy  Mother.”  In  the  eyes  of  her  super¬ 
stitious  followers,  this  woman  became  an  Oriental  Jeanne 
D’Arc.  When  the  Boxer  movement*was  in  full  swing, 
any  one  suspected  of  being  friendly  to  foreigners  was 
taken  before  her,  and  sentenced  to  death,  or  set  at  liberty, 
according  to  her  decision.  Li  Hung-chang’s  eldest  son, 
Li  Chang- shu,  who  was  in  Tientsin  at  the  time,  was 
arrested  by  the  Boxers  and  brought  before  the  “  Yellow 
Lotus.”  The  “  Holy  Mother  ”  bade  him  kneel,  and  then 
smiled  graciously  upon  him.  One  of  his  attendants,  who 
was  intimate  with  a  Boxer  chief,  purchased  his  release — 
for  the  “  Yellow  Lotus  ”  had  an  eye  to  business. 

The  Viceroy,  Yu  Lu,  invited  her  to  his  yamen  and 
begged  her  to  predict  the  result  of  the  movement.  At 
her  coming  he  knelt  in  Court  robes  to  receive  her  outside 
the  main  tribunal  and  made  obeisance  to  her.  He  said  : 
“  The  foreigners  are  near  at  hand.  Have  mercy  and 

1  A  well-known  theatrical  personage  :  it  is  not  etiquette  to  cite 
heroes  of  the  stage  at  an  Imperial  audience,  least  of  all  to  compare 
one  of  them  with  an  official. 


452 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


deliver  us  from  them  by  your  magic  power.”  She  re¬ 
plied  :  “I  have  already  arranged  for  an  angelic  host  to 
destroy  them  with  fire  from  Heaven.  You  need  not  be 
alarmed.”  She  was  eventually  arrested  and  decapitated 
by  order  of  Li  Hung-chang. 

The  point  of  view  of  the  man  in  the  street,  the  humble, 
plunderable  private  citizen,  was  of  little  account  in  those 
days,  when  the  great  ones  staked  the  destinies  of  the 
Empire  on  a  single  desperate  throw.  What  the  man  in 
the  street  felt  is  fairly  described  in  the  following  reminis¬ 
cence  of  the  crisis,  penned  at  the  time,  by  a  Kiangsu  man 
resident  in  Peking,  styled  Heng  Yi. 

“In  the  26th  year  of  Kuang  Hsu,”  he  wrote,  “my 
house  was  at  the  western  end  of  San  T’iao  lane,  not  four 
hundred  yards  from  the  Legations.  After  the  murder  of 
the  German  Minister  on  the  24th  of  the  5th  Moon,  the 
ruffian  soldiery  of  Tung  Fu-hsiang  entered  and  sacked 
nearly  every  house  in  my  neighbourhood.  All  through 
the  24th  and  25th  I  could  hear  the  shrieks  of  the  women 
and  children,  whom  they  were  butchering,  and  their 
shouts,  in  the  Kansu  dialect,  ‘  Bring  out  the  Erh  Mao 
Tzu  !  ’  1  On  the  26th  (June  22nd)  a  Manchu  Censor 
impeached  them  to  the  Throne,  and  the  Old  Buddha  sent 
for  their  General,  Tung  Fu-hsiang,  and  bade  him  make 
an  example  of  the  culprits.  Accordingly,  on  the  evening 
of  that  day,  twenty  soldiers  were  beheaded  just  at  the 
entrance  to  my  lane. 

“  Even  this  exemplary  punishment  did  not  abate  their 
fury,  for  next  day  another  large  contingent  started  looting 
again,  and  in  due  course  approached  my  house.  My 
cousin  ordered  the  gate  man  to  draw  the  bars  across  the 
main  gate,  but  I  begged  him  to  do  nothing  of  the  sort. 
‘  Our  only  hope  to  escape  being  massacred  is  to  parley 
with  them.’  My  cousin  agreed,  so  we  collected  the  whole 

1  “  Secondary  Devils  ” — the  term  used  to  describe  Chinese  Christians. 

453 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


of  the  family  in  one  of  the  main  rooms,  and  told  them  not 
to  get  excited  or  scream.  I  had  scarcely  mustered  them 
when  nineteen  of  the  Kansu  braves  came  rushing  in. 
Their  swords  and  clothes  were  still  dripping  with  blood, 
as  if  they  had  come  from  a  shambles.  I  went  forward 
to  meet  them,  saying  politely  :  ‘  I  know  what  you  have 
come  for  :  you  are  looking  for  secondary  devils.  How¬ 
ever,  none  of  us  have  “eaten”  the  foreign  religion.  You 
will  see  that  we  have  an  altar  to  the  kitchen  god  in  our 
back  premises.  The  whole  of  our  family  is  now  here ; 
will  you  not  take  a  look  through  the  house  to  see  if  there 
are  any  Christians  in  hiding  ?  ’  I  meant  by  this  to  imply 
that  we  should  offer  no  opposition  to  their  looting  what¬ 
soever  they  pleased.  I  also  called  a  servant  to  prepare 
tea.  Our  guests  received  these  overtures  pleasantly 
enough,  and  after  a  few  minutes  of  energetic  looting  they 
returned  to  my  guest  room,  and  some  of  them  sat  down 
to  take  tea.  One  of  them  remarked  :  ‘  You  seem  to  be 
thoroughly  respectable  people  :  what  a  pity  that  you 
should  reside  near  this  nest  of  foreign  convert  and  spies.’ 
After  a  brief  stay  they  thanked  us  politely,  apologising 
for  the  intrusion,  and  retired  with  their  booty.  It  was 
then  about  2  p.m.  We  lost  about  $4,000  worth  of  valu¬ 
ables.  Shortly  afterwards,  flames  were  bursting  from  our 
neighbour’s  premises,  so  I  made  up  my  mind  to  remove 
my  family  to  a  friend’s  house  in  the  north  of  the  city. 
In  spite  of  these  deeds  of  violence,  even  intelligent  people 
still  believed  that  the  Kansu  soldiery  were  a  tower  of 
defence  for  China,  and  would  be  more  than  able  to  repel 
any  number  of  foreign  troops.  A  friend  of  mine  reckoned 
that  250,000  persons  lost  their  lives  in  Peking  that  summer. 
I  used  to  revile  the  Boxers  in  the  family  circle  so  much  that 
my  own  kinsmen,  who  sympathised  with  them,  would 
call  me  an  ‘  Erh  Mao  Tzu,’  and  my  cousin,  fearing  that 
the  Boxers  would  murder  me,  induced  me  one  day  to 
kotow  before  one  of  their  altars  in  the  Nai  Tzu-fu.  To 

454 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


this  day  I  have  regretted  my  weakness  in  thus  bowing  the 
knee.” 

Five  high  officials  fell  victims  to  the  malignant  passions 
and  private  enmity  of  the  war  party  during  the  height  of 
the  crisis,  while  the  Allies  were  advancing  upon  Peking. 
Of  these,  two  were  executed  by  the  orders  of  the  Old 
Buddha — Yuan  Ch’ang  and  Hsii  Ching-ch’eng — for  having 
tried  to  protect  foreigners.1  The  other  three,  Li  Shan, 
Hsii  Yung-yi  and  Lien  Shan,  were  hurriedly  sent  to  their 
death  by  Prince  Tuan.2  The  death  of  Hsu  Ching-ch’eng, 
a  very  brave  and  courtly  gentleman,  has  been  well  de¬ 
scribed  by  an  anonymous  writer,  in  a  memoir  entitled, 
Reminiscences  of  a  Time  of  Suspicion  and  Panic ,3  as 
follows  : 

“  A  certain  old  scholar  of  Chekiang  had  been  a  close 
friend  to  Hsii  Ching-ch’eng  in  the  days  before  Hsii  had 
attained  to  official  rank.  He  accompanied  him  on  his 
first  mission  to  Europe,  and  from  that  time  never  left  him 
till  the  day  of  his  death.  This  gentleman  relates  that 
on  the  day  of  Hsii  Ching-ch’eng’s  arrest,  all  was  quiet  in 
Hsii’s  house  and  there  were  no  particularly  alarming 
rumours.  After  the  midday  meal  they  were  sitting  talk¬ 
ing  in  the  library,  Hsii  having  ordered  his  carriage  to  go 
to  the  Tsungli-yamen.  He  had  just  put  on  his  official 
robes,  when  the  gate-keeper  came  in  with  a  card  to  an¬ 
nounce  a  visitor.  The  name  was  not  familiar  to  Hsii, 
who  told  the  gate-keeper  to  make  his  excuses,  explaining 

1  Vide  China  under  the  Empress  Dowager ,  p.  294. 

2  The  diarist,  Ching  Shan,  declares  that  this  was  done  without  the 
knowledge  of  the  Old  Buddha,  but,  on  the  face  of  it,  this  is  difficult  to 
believe.  It  is  most  probable  that,  without  premeditation,  she  allowed 
it  to  be  done  in  one  of  her  violent  fits  of  rage,  and  was  sorry  for  it 
immediately  afterwards. 

3  Literally  :  “  monkey-like  suspicions  and  panic  at  the  cry  of  a 
bird.” 


455 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


that  he  had  an  appointment  at  the  Yamen  and  no  time 
to  spare.  The  gate-keeper  went  out  but  came  back  at 
once,  to  say  that  the  visitor  was  a  military  official  em¬ 
ployed  at  the  Yamen,  and  that  his  orders  from  Prince 
Ch’ing  were  to  invite  Hsii’s  immediate  attendance  :  Prince 
Ch’ing  and  Prince  Tuan  were  both  at  the  Yamen  already, 
and  there  was  most  important  business  on  hand.  Hsu 
thereupon  went  out  and  saw  the  man.  On  returning,  he 
said  to  his  friend  :  ‘  When  we  left  the  Yamen  yesterday 
I  heard  nothing  of  any  important  business.  I  wonder 
why  both  Princes  are  attending  there  to-day  ?  ’  To  this 
his  friend  replied  :  ‘No  doubt  something  has  happened. 
I  shall  go  now  into  the  Southern  city  to  get  the  latest 
news.’  The  friend  then  went  out,  but  immediately  re¬ 
turned  to  say  :  ‘  That  officer  who  came  to  fetch  you  is 
still  waiting  outside,  close  by  the  gate.  He  seems  greatly 
excited ;  it  all  looks  very  suspicious.  Besides,  I  know  all 
the  Yamen  official  messengers  by  sight,  and  I  never  saw 
this  man  before.  I  advise  you,  as  &  precaution,  to  take 
a  larger  suite  with  you  than  usual,  and  be  sure  to  send  back 
a  messenger  with  a  report.’ 

“  Hsu  smilingly  ignored  his  friend’s  remarks,  entered  his 
carriage  and  drove  as  far  as  the  end  of  the  lane,  where  he 
observed  several  runners  from  the  Yamen  of  the  Metro¬ 
politan  Gendarmerie  standing  about.  Upon  a  sign  from 
the  officer,  they  all  formed  a  bodyguard  round  Hsu’s 
carriage.  Instead  of  proceeding  towards  the  Tsungli- 
yamen  they  turned  northwards,  and  when  Hsu  asked 
the  reason  for  this  he  was  told  that  to-day’s  meeting 
would  be  held  in  the  Yamen  of  Gendarmerie.  On  arriving 
there,  the  officer  came  forward  and  assisted  Hsu  to  alight. 
He  then  ordered  Hsii’s  attendants  to  go  home  :  ‘You 
are  not  wanted  here,’  said  he;  ‘  His  Excellency  will  have 
other  men  to  wait  upon  him  inside.’  Hsii  was  rapidly  con¬ 
ducted  to  a  small  room,  the  door  was  bolted  and  he  was 
left  alone.  He  could  hear  sounds  of  lamentation  pro- 

456 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


ceeding  from  some  one  in  the  next  room.  This  turned 
out  to  be  Yuan  Ch’ang,  but  the  two  were  not  allowed  to 
meet. 

“  Meantime  Hsii’s  suite  returned  home,  and  his  friend 
was  greatly  alarmed  at  this  report.  He  hurried  off  to 
Wang  Wen-shao  (his  fellow  provincial)  to  find  out  what 
was  afoot,  and  to  beg  him  to  save  Hsii’s  life.  Wang  pro¬ 
fessed  amazement  :  ‘  I  have  only  just  come  from  the 

Council,’  he  said,  ‘  and  to  my  knowledge  Her  Majesty 
issued  no  decree.  Your  story  seems  incredible.’ 

“  Hsii’s  friend  took  his  leave  and  spent  most  of  the  night 
in  trying  to  find  some  means  of  succouring  him ;  it  was 
not  till  3  a.m.  that  he  heard  definitely  that  both  he  and 
Yuan  had  been  sent  to  the  Board  of  Punishments.  Early 
that  morning  he  received  a  private  note  from  a  secretary 
of  the  Board  to  tell  him  that  the  heads  of  the  Ministry 
had  just  come  out  from  the  great  hall  of  Council,  and  that 
orders  had  been  given  for  a  supply  of  red  yarn  to  be  got 
ready,  from  which  he  knew  that  the  execution  of  the  two 
prisoners  had  been  decreed,  because  an  ancient  custom 
requires  that  when  a  high  official  is  to  be  beheaded,  his 
face  must  be  enveloped  in  red  cloth. 

“  On  receipt  of  this  note  Hsu’s  friend  set  off  to  visit  Wang 
Wen-shao  to  intercede  once  more  for  Hsu’s  life,  but  he 
had  only  just  started  when  he  received  a  message  saying 
that  the  cart  conveying  the  condemned  had  already  left 
the  Board  of  Punishments.  He  hurried  off  to  the  exe¬ 
cution  ground  outside  the  city,  but  on  reaching  it  he 
found  that  the  two  officials  were  already  dead,  and  that 
Hsu  Ch’eng-yii  (son  of  Hsu  Thing)  was  on  his  way  to  the 
Palace  to  inform  Her  Majesty  of  the  due  execution  of  her 
orders.” 

As  regards  the  death  of  Li  Shan,  the  same  writer  observes 
that  it  is  not  correct  to  suppose  that  it  was  due  to  the 
Boxers’  coveting  his  vast  wealth.  The  real  reason  lay  in  a 

457 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


long-standing  feud  between  him  and  Duke  Tsai  Lan,  who 
was  really  responsible  for  his  execution.  Some  years 
before,  a  well-known  singing  girl  named  “  Green  Monkey  ” 
was  all  the  rage  among  the  fashionable  elite  of  Peking. 
Both  Tsai  Lan  and  Li  Shan  had  had  relations  with  her,  and 
each  wished  to  secure  her  for  himself,  because  her  beauty 
made  her  worthy  in  their  eyes  “  of  having  a  golden  house 
built  for  her  abode.”  At  that  time,  however,  Duke  Lan 
had  no  official  position  and  was  in  poor  circumstances 
financially,  so  Li  Shan  succeeded  in  carrying  off  the 
“  Green  Monkey.”  For  this  Tsai  Lan  cherished  a  bitter 
grudge  against  him,  which  the  Boxer  rising  gave  him  an 
opportunity  to  pay  off. 

As  for  the  Chancellor  of  the  Grand  Secretariat,  Lien 
Yuan,  executed  at  the  same  time  by  order  of  Prince  Tuan, 
he  had  put  in  a  memorial  urging  that  the  bombardment 
of  the  Legations  should  cease.  He  was  just  emerging 
from  the  Palace  when  he  met  Ch’ung  Li,  ex-commandant 
of  the  Gendarmerie,  just  outside  the  gatQ*  of  Brilliant 
Fortune.  With  an  exclamation  of  surprise  Ch’ung  Li 
said  :  “  What  brings  you  to  the  Palace  at  this  early 

hour?  ”  (It  was  not  yet  dawn;  Lien  had  had  to  attend 
early  in  order  to  present  his  memorial.)  Lien  told  him 
the  reason.  Ch’ung  angrily  replied  :  “  Indeed  !  Have 

you  forgotten  your  Manchu  birth  that  you  behave  like 
one  of  these  Chinese  traitors  ?  ” 

Lien  refused  to  admit  that  he  was  in  the  wrong,  and 
angrily  turned  on  his  heel.  Ch’ung  Li  was  furious,  and 
reported  to  Prince  Tuan.  A  few  days  later  Lien  met  his 
fate  at  the  “  Western  Market.”  Just  before  his  head 
fell,  a  Boxer  leader  in  full  uniform  came  riding  up  at  a 
hand  gallop,  dragging  behind  him  something  which  was  so 
completely  covered  with  dust  and  mud  as  to  be  quite  un¬ 
recognisable.  It  was  not  until  the  rider  had  pulled  up 
his  horse  at  the  execution  ground,  that  the  bystanders 
perceived  it  was  a  man  bound  hand  and  foot.  The  features 

458 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


were  mutilated  beyond  recognition,  but  on  inquiry  of  the 
runners  they  learned  that  it  was  Li  Shan. 

The  fate  of  the  third  victim,  Hsii  Yung-yi,  was  the 
hardest  of  all.  A  native  of  Chekiang,  he  began  his  career 
as  a  small  official  in  the  Board  of  Revenue,  obtained  by 
examination  a  post  as  clerk  on  the  Grand  Council,  and 
finally,  after  nearly  fifty  years  of  official  life,  rose  to  be 
Board  President.  He  was  circumspect  and  careful  by 
nature,  an  advocate  of  compromise  in  State  affairs,  honest 
and  incorruptible,  resembling  the  late  Duke  of  Devonshire 
in  his  slow  and  weighty  mode  of  speech.  His  death  was  a 
surprise  to  every  one,  because  few  knew  that  he  had  an 
enemy.  Tzu  Hsi  always  liked  him,  and  subsequently 
declared  that  his  execution  was  none  of  her  doing. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  the  man  really  responsible  for  his 
undoing  was  Hsii  T’ung,  who  had  long  cherished  a  secret 
grudge  against  him,  because  of  an  apparently  trivial  in¬ 
cident  in  connection  with  an  Examination  Commission 
on  which  both  men  were  engaged.  On  that  occasion  a 
candidate,  protege  of  the  Grand  Secretary,  had  been 
“  ploughed  ”  as  the  result  of  Hsii  Yung-yi  having  de¬ 
tected  an  error  in  caligraphy,  which  had  escaped  the  notice 
of  the  other  examiners.  Hsii  Thing’s  mind  was  of  the 
type  which  cannot  forget  or  forgive  loss  of  “  face.” 

After  the  death  of  Li  Shan  and  Lien  Yuan,  Prince  Tuan, 
Duke  Lan  and  Kang  Yi  were  by  no  means  sated  of  their 
blood  lust,  and  proposed  to  make  a  wholesale  proscription 
of  their  opponents,  including,  if  possible,  Jung  Lu.  Liao 
Shou-keng,  ex-President  of  the  Board  of  Ceremonies  (a 
native  of  Kiangsu)  had  been  removed  from  the  Grand 
Council  some  months  previously,  and  had  resigned  from 
the  Tsungli-yamen  in  June,  1910,  but  Kang  and  Tuan 
both  had  long-standing  grudges  against  him.  They  fixed 
on  the  22nd  of  the  7th  Moon  ( i .  e.  August  16th)  for  the 
execution  of  Liao  and  several  others,  Liao  being  the  first 
on  their  list  of  victims.  They  made  no  secret  of  their 

459 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


intentions,  which  were  known  all  over  the  metropolis. 
Liao  Shou-keng  had  sent  his  family  home  to  the  South, 
and  was  living  at  that  time  in  a  small  temple  outside  the 
Tung-hua  Gate.  On  hearing  the  news  he  was  much 
alarmed,  and  implored  a  kinsman  of  his,  an  ex-Viceroy, 
to  persuade  Jung  Lu  to  save  his  life.  Jung  Lu  promised 
to  do  what  he  could,  but  next  day  he  reported  that  all 
his  efforts  had  been  in  vain.  At  audience  that  morning 
he  had  kotowed  time  and  again  to  the  Old  Buddha  im¬ 
ploring  her  to  save  Liao’s  life,  but  Her  Majesty  had  re¬ 
fused  to  change  her  decision,  and  no  appeal  could  move  her. 
He  therefore  advised  that  Liao  should  commit  suicide. 

The  message  was  duly  delivered  to  Liao,  but  he  could 
not  make  up  his  mind  to  act  upon  it.  Herein  he  was 
wise,  for  on  the  21st,  one  day  before  the  date  fixed  for  his 
execution,  Peking  fell,  and  thus  he  escaped.  He  left 
immediately  for  his  home  in  the  South,  where  he  died 
not  long  after.  The  priest  at  the  temple  where  he  lived 
said  afterwards  that  when  Liao  heard  the  news  of  his 
sentence,  he  wandered  round  and  round  the  cohrtyard 
like  a  man  in  a  frenzy,  and  hardly  stood  still  a  moment 
for  several  hours  on  end.  He  took  no  nourishment  and 
was  as  pale  as  a  corpse. 

It  is  not  generally  known  that  Wang  Wen-shao  himself 
had  a  very  narrow  escape  at  that  time.  After  the  five 
officials  above-named  had  been  put  to  death,  Duke  Lan 
put  in  a  memorial  concerning  the  bombardment  of  the 
Legations.  To  this  there  was  a  supplementary  memoran¬ 
dum  attached,  containing  these  words  :  “  Most  of  the  pro- 
foreign  traitors  have  been  put  to  death,  and  Your  Majesty’s 
Court  is  purged  of  their  odious  miasma.  One  man,  how¬ 
ever,  still  remains  to  pollute  your  presence.  That  man  is 
Wang  Wen-shao.  Unless  the  weed  be  plucked  up  by  the 
roots,  disaster  will  ensue.  I  beseech  Your  Majesty  to  have 
him  beheaded,  so  that  Your  Court  may  be  thoroughly 
purified  of  traitors.” 


460 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


The  memorial  duly  reached  the  Grand  Council  for 
presentation.  Jung  Lu  opened  and  perused  it.  He 
said  nothing  to  his  colleagues,  but  hid  the  supplementary 
memorandum  in  his  sleeve.  He  handed  the  memorial 
itself  to  Wang  Wen-shao,  who  read  it  through,  and  then 
said  to  his  colleague  :  “I  understood  that  Duke  Lan 
was  putting  in  a  supplementary  memorandum  as  well. 
Where  is  it  ?  ”  Jung  Lu  quietly  replied  :  “  Oh  !  probably 
it  has  been  retained  by  Her  Majesty,  and  will  not  be 
issued.” 

A  few  minutes  later,  the  Councillors  were  all  summoned 
to  audience.  After  transacting  routine  business,  Jung 
Lu  took  out  the  supplementary  memorandum  from  his 
sleeve,  saying  :  “  This  memorandum  of  Tsai  Lan  is  really 
an  abominable  insult  to  Your  Majesty’s  intelligence. 
Will  Your  Majesty  be  pleased  to  issue  a  rescript  of  severe 
censure  ?  ” 

The  Old  Buddha  glanced  over  the  document,  and  the 
“  benevolent  countenance  ”  grew  black  as  thunder.  She 
muttered  to  herself  and  sat  with  knit  brows,  her  face 
wearing  an  expression  which,  as  Jung  Lu  knew  well,  boded 
evil  to  the  victim  of  her  impending  wrath.  At  last,  she 
said  sternly  :  “  Will  you  guarantee  that  this  man  is 

innocent  of  all  treasonable  designs  ?  ”  Jung  Lu  kotowed. 
“  Although  every  man  in  Your  Majesty’s  Court  were  a 
traitor  and  were  plotting  against  Your  Majesty,  yet  I 
would  stake  my  life  on  this  man’s  unswerving  fidelity.  I, 
your  slave,  will  pledge  the  Grand  Secretary’s  loyalty,  as 
long  as  breath  remains  in  my  body.  If  I  had  a  hundred 
voices  I  would  proclaim  it  with  every  one,  even  though 
my  head  should  fall  under  the  headsman’s  sword  for  my 
temerity.”  The  Old  Buddha  still  hesitated,  with  an 
inscrutable  look  on  her  face  and  a  demeanour  of  enforced 
calm.  At  last  she  said  in  a  voice  of  deep  warning  :  “  So 
be  it,  then.  I  place  this  man  under  your  charge,  and  if 
I  find  that  your  words  are  false  and  that  he  has  been 

461 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


conspiring  against  me,  both  of  you  shall  suffer  the  same 
penalty.”  Jung  Lu  again  prostrated  himself  and  thanked 
Her  Majesty  for  her  gracious  kindness.  The  victory  was 
won.  He  and  his  colleagues  then  took  their  leave. 

Now,  Wang  Wen-shao  was  very  deaf,  and  all  this  time 
had  been  kneeling  at  some  distance  from  the  Throne.  He 
had  no  idea  what  the  Old  Buddha  was  saying  to  Jung  Lu. 
Afterwards  Jung  Lu  told  his  friends  the  story,  remarking  : 
“  While  I  was  pleading  for  Wang’s  life  and  the  Old 
Buddha  looked  wrathfully  in  his  direction,  speaking  in 
such  a  tone  that  Prince  Li  and  I  both  trembled  and  turned 
deadly  pale,  while  Kang  Yi  sneered  at  us,  there  was  old 
Wang,  looking  perfectly  happy  and  self-possessed,  without 
the  least  idea  of  what  was  going  on.”  To  the  day  of  his 
death  Wang  never  knew  of  his  escape,  and  would  often 
ask  Jung  Lu  what  the  Old  Buddha  was  saying  to  him  on 
that  fateful  morning  of  August  1900. 

Finally,  from  notes  written  a  month  after  the  relief  of 
the  Legations,  by  one  who  signs  himself  “”An  Imperial 
Clansman,”  we  take  the  following  pathetic  description 
of  the  death  of  Lien  Yuan’s  son-in-law,  Shou  Fu,  who  with 
all  his  household  committed  suicide  upon  the  entry  of  the 
Allies,  fearing  insult  and  outrage  at  their  hands.  Shou 
Fu  was  of  a  type  not  uncommon  amongst  the  Reformers 
(of  whom  he  was  one) — earnest,  honest  and  impulsive, 
but  not  very  wise  or  well-informed.  A  blind  impulse, 
born  of  ignorance,  wiped  out  all  his  family ;  such  tragedies 
were  common,  however,  during  those  days  of  battle, 
murder  and  sudden  death.  For  that  matter  they  are 
common  enough  in  China  at  this  time  of  writing. 

“  At  the  beginning  of  the  Boxer  crisis  Shou  Fu  was  greatly 
concerned  as  to  the  state  of  affairs  at  the  Palace.  He 
sought  everywhere  to  obtain  accurate  information,  and  in 
the  end  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Old  Buddha’s 
belief  in  the  Boxers  would  bring  ruin  upon  the  State,  and 
end  the  Manchu  rule.  To  his  family  he  expressed  the 

462 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


opinion  that  the  only  hope  of  saving  the  situation  would 
be  to  get  the  Emperor  out  of  the  hands  of  Tzu  Hsi  and  Li 
Lien-ying— ‘  a  position  of  dire  peril  ’—and  let  him  then 
arrange  matters  with  the  Allies. 

“  When  Prince  Tuan  and  his  confederates  had  won  the 
ear  of  the  Old  Buddha,  one  of  Shou  Fu’s  friends  implored 
him  to  leave  Peking,  but  he  sadly  refused.  He  was  then 
urged  to  allow  his  younger  brother,  Chang  Fu,  to  take  his 
wife  and  children  to  his  villa  in  the  country,  but  again 
he  refused,  saying  :  ‘  When  the  skin  has  perished,  where 
shall  the  hair  grow  ?  When  everything  is  in  such  dire 
confusion,  why  worry  about  individual  misfortunes  ?  ’ 
His  brother  Chang  Fu  agreed,  saying  that  he  also  had 
lost  all  desire  to  live. 

“  Shou  Fu’s  father-in-law,  Lien  Yuan,  Chancellor  of  the 
Grand  Secretariat,  was  a  well-known  authority  on  the 
philosophy  of  Chu  Hsi.  In  1898,  while  holding  office  in 
Hupei  province,  he  heard  that  Shou  Fu  was  a  supporter 
of  the  Reform  movement,  and  wrote  him  a  very  angry 
letter.  After  the  interchange  of  some  heated  corre¬ 
spondence,  all  relations  ceased  for  a  time  between  the 
two  men.  Subsequently,  when  Lien  Yuan  came  to  hold 
office  in  Peking,  he  realised  that  his  son-in-law’s  endorse¬ 
ment  of  the  Reform  movement  arose  from  sincere  patriot¬ 
ism  and  not  from  any  love  of  new  and  strange  ideas. 
When,  in  June,  the  crisis  became  acute,  Lien  Yuan  was 
received  in  audience  with  the  rest  of  the  chief  officials. 
There,  in  the  audience  hall,  he  wept  aloud,  and  addressed 
a  most  vigorous  remonstrance  to  the  Empress  Dowager, 
telling  her  that  by  the  laws  of  nations,  the  persons  of 
envoys  are  sacrosanct.  At  this  Prince  Tuan  stepped  out 
from  his  place  at  the  head  of  the  Princes,  and  angrily 
exclaimed  :  ‘  Lien  Yuan  deserves  to  lose  his  head.’ 

Luckily  for  Lien,  the  Old  Buddha  made  no  sign,  but  con¬ 
tinued  to  listen,  apparently  unmoved,  while  he  finished 
his  discourse.  When  he  had  done,  all  she  said  was  :  ‘  I 

463 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


am  perfectly  well  aware  of  all  you  tell  me,  and  I  find 
these  long-winded  harangues  very  wearisome.’  But  Shou 
Fu  rightly  foresaw  that  his  father  would  not  escape  the 
vengeance  of  Prince  Tuan  for  thus  openly  defying  him. 

“  Shou  Fu’s  family  moved  to  Lien’s  house  four  days  after 
the  latter’s  execution,  i.  e.  on  August  14th.  From  that  day 
communications  were  interrupted,  between  various  parts 
of  the  city,  by  the  coming  of  the  allied  armies.  On  the 
17th  of  August  detachments  of  foreign  troops  had  been 
seen  in  the  West  city,  but  it  was  rumoured  that  all  who 
hung  out  the  white  flag  would  have  their  lives  spared. 
Nevertheless  Shou  Fu  and  his  brother  proceeded  to  poison 
themselves  with  opium.  Their  unmarried  sister,  aged 
thirty-two,  then  swallowed  some  of  the  drug,  and  made 
her  little  sister,  aged  eight,  do  the  same.  Her  slave  girl 
named  Sa’Erh,  stimulated  to  heroism  by  her  mistress’s 
shining  example,  vowed  that  she  too  would  give  up  her 
life.  By  this  time,  the  foreign  soldiers  had  entered  the 
adjoining  courtyard.  Shou  Fu  was  afraid,  as  the  drug 
worked  slowly,  that  death  would  not  come  in  time  to 
save  them  from  insult  by  the  troops,  so  he  led  them  all 
into  a  room  on  the  west  side  of  the  court.  There  he 
mounted  the  brick  platform  and  hanged  himself  to  the 
rafters;  but  he  being  very  stout,  the  rope  gave  way,  and 
he  fell  with  a  crash  to  the  ground.  His  brother  Chang  Fu 
raised  him  and  hurriedly  assisted  him  to  climb  up  again 
and  to  adjust  the  rope  securely,  and  this  time  he  succeeded 
in  hanging  himself. 

“  Chang  Fu  then  quietly  made  ready  the  ropes  for  his 
sisters  and  the  little  maid.  When  he  had  done  so,  there 
was  no  more  rope  left,  so  he  hurried  out  and  found  a  piece 
of  thin  cord  in  an  outhouse.  With  this  he  returned  to  the 
western  room,  opened  the  door  and  hanged  himself  to  the 
rafter  just  inside,  thus  blocking  the  entrance.  It  was 
then  ten  o’clock  in  the  morning  of  the  23rd  day  of  the 
7th  Moon.  Shou  Fu’s  age  was  thirty-six,  and  his  brother’s 

464 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


thirty-two.  Their  wives  were  forcibly  prevented  by 
Lien’s  family  from  committing  suicide,  as  they  too  wished 
to  do. 

“  Later,  when  the  foreign  soldiers  had  left  the  house,  the 
servants  had  to  cut  down  Chang  Fu’s  body  before  they 
could  get  into  the  western  room.  The  five  bodies  were 
reverently  laid  out  in  the  main  hall,  but  the  family  had  no 
money  wherewith  to  bury  them  decently.  A  kind  neigh¬ 
bour,  named  Fu,  made  them  a  present  of  a  hundred  taels, 
and  with  this  they  bought  five  coffins.  The  remains  were 
taken  to  the  garden  at  the  back  and  there  temporarily 
interred. 

“  Ever  since  the  Japanese  war,”  concludes  the 
chronicler,  “  Shou  Fu  had  realised  that  only  by  reform 
could  China  be  saved  from  ruin.  No  doubt  he  would 
have  preferred  to  serve  his  country  by  living  to  work  for 
it,  rather  than  by  dying  for  it;  nevertheless  his  heroic 
resolution  must  have  afforded  no  small  satisfaction  to 
the  soul  in  Heaven  of  his  ancestor,  Nurhachi,  as  well  as 
serving  to  show  his  enemies  how  a  true  patriot  can  die  !  ” 


HH 


465 


CHAPTER  XX 


CONCERNING  THE  OLD  BUDDHA 

Readers  of  China  Under  the  Empress  Dowager  may  - 
remember  that,  in  summing  up  the  character  of  that 
remarkable  woman,  we  drew  attention  to  the  fact  that 
up  to  the  time  of  her  death,  despite  the  mass  of  material 
existing  in  the  diaries  and  archives  of  metropolitan 
officials  and  the  personal  reminiscences  of  those  who  knew 
her  well,  nothing  of  any  human  interest  or  value  had  been 
published  in  China  concerning  her  life  and  times.  The 
work  issued  by  “  Wen  Ching,”  from  the  safe  asylum 
of  a  British  Colony,  was  so  obviously  distorted  by  hatred 
of  the  Manchus  and  so  recklessly  inaccurate  on  matters 
of  verifiable  detail,  as  to  be  useless.  The  diary  of  Ching 
Shan  afforded  for  the  first  time  authoritative  evidence 
of  the  opinion  in  which  Tzu  Hsi  was  held  by  those  most 
competent  to  judge  of  her  faults  and  virtues.  Regarded 
in  the  light  of  that  evidence,  which  has  undoubtedly 
been  confirmed  by  popular  verdict,  the  Empress  Dowager 
“  despite  her  swift  changing  and  uncontrolled  moods, 
her  childish  lack  of  moral  sense,  her  unscrupulous  love 
of  power,  her  fierce  passions  and  revenges,  was  no  more 
the  fierce  monster  described  by  ‘  Wen  Ching  ’  than  she 
was  the  benevolent,  fashion-plate  Lady  Bountiful  of 
the  American  Magazines.”  1 

In  discussing  the  early  life  of  Tzu  Hsi,  and  the  crimes 
with  which  her  contemporaries  and  posterity  have  charged 
1  China  under  the  Empress  Dowager ,  p.  478. 

466 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


her,  we  laid  stress  on  the  fact  that  she  lived  her  life 
according  to  her  lights  and  in  strict  accordance  with  the 
traditions  of  her  race  and  caste.  Her  own  mistress, 
and  virtual  ruler  of  the  Empire  at  the  age  of  twenty-four, 
with  none  to  teach  her  to  control  either  her  moods  or 
her  passions,  how  could  she  learn  to  cleanse  the  For¬ 
bidden  City  of  its  barbaric  cruelties  and  corruption  ? 
Remembering  the  utterly  unscrupulous  falsehood  of  the 
charges  with  which  Chinese  political  opponents  habitually 
assail  each  other,  and  making  due  allowance  for  Tzu 
Hsi’s  environment  in  a  city  of  “  infantile  gaiety  and  sudden 
tragedy,  of  flashing  fortunes  and  swift  dooms,”  we  held, 
and  hold,  that  she  was  entitled  to  the  benefit  of  many 
doubts. 

Nevertheless,  and  making  all  these  allowances,  the  fact 
has  ever  been  indisputable  that  the  licentiousness  and 
wicked  extravagance  with  which  Tzu  Hsi’s  name  was 
universally  associated  during  the  minority  of  her 
son  T’ung  Chih,  created  widespread  feelings  of  resent¬ 
ment  and  disgust  amongst  the  better  class  of  Chinese 
officials.  These  feelings  bore  fruit  at  several  important 
crises  of  her  career,  and  undoubtedly  contributed  in  the 
end  to  inspire  the  Western-educated  Cantonese  party 
with  the  revolutionary  ideas  which  led  to  the  overthrow 
of  the  dynasty.  In  1898,  for  instance,  one  of  the 
memorials  submitted  by  the  Reformer,  Yang  Jui,  to  His 
Majesty  Kuang  Hsii,  advocating  the  seizure  and  im¬ 
prisonment  of  the  Empress  Dowager,  denounced  her 
gross  immorality  and  accused  her  of  illicit  relations 
with  several  notable  persons,  one  of  whom  was  Jung  Lu. 
It  compared  the  crimes  and  orgies  of  her  Summer  Palace 
with  those  committed  under  the  infamous  concubine, 
Ta  Chi,  of  the  Shang  dynasty,  and  referred  to  her  vicious 
practices  as  matters  of  common  and  undisputed  know¬ 
ledge.  This,  indeed,  has  generally  been  the  attitude  of 
the  anti-Manchu  movement  of  Young  China;  but,  in 

467 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


assessing  the  value  of  its  denunciations  and  the  evidence 
which  it  now  produces  with  impunity  in  support  of  its 
assertions,  it  is  well  to  bear  in  mind  the  frankly  prejudiced 
character  of  the  writers,  and  to  realise  that  their  state¬ 
ments  are  no  more  worthy  of  complete  confidence  than  the 
evidence  of  Tzu  Hsi’s  own  decrees  and  official  apologists. 

The  principal  crimes  with  which  Tzu  Hsi  stands  charged 
are  crimes  affecting  the  Imperial  succession.  Incidents 
such  as  the  murder  of  the  “  Pearl  Concubine  ”  or  her 
complicity  in  the  Boxer  madness,  are  not  seriously 
denounced  by  her  critics ;  by  tacit  consent  it  appears 
to  be  assumed  that  a  ruler  in  China  may  forcibly  remove 
all  obstacles  from  the  path  of  his,  or  her,  supreme 
authority,  except  where  the  direct  and  legitimate  suc¬ 
cession  to  the  Throne  is  involved.  The  instinct  of  Young 
China  seems,  in  this  matter,  to  be  unconsciously  at  one 
with  that  of  the  orthodox  literati  of  the  old  regime ,  and 
to  spring  from  recognition  of  the  principle  that  the  whole 
social  system  of  China,  based  on  ancestor  worship,  is 
bound  up  with  maintenance  of  the  Throne  and  the 
regular  transmission  of  the  Goodly  Heritage  to  legitimate 
heirs. 

In  discussing  the  untimely  death  of  T’ung  Chih’s 
young  widow,  the  virtuous  A-Lu-te,  and  her  unborn 
child  in  March,  1875,  we  recorded  the  fact  that  “  opinions 
have  always  differed,  and  will  continue  to  differ,  as  to  the 
truth  of  her  alleged  suicide,”  but  that  the  balance  of  all 
available  evidence  undoubtedly  pointed  in  the  direction 
of  foul  play.  Of  all  the  crimes  with  which  Tzu  Hsi  has 
been  accused,  this  was,  and  is,  the  most  heinous,  the  most 
cold-blooded  and  at  the  same  time  the  most  vitally 
necessary  to  the  maintenance  of  her  own  position  as 
ruler  of  China.  Given  the  circumstances  under  which 
it  occurred,  it  was  inevitable  that  the  death  of  this  un¬ 
fortunate  woman  should  be  laid  at  Tzu  Hsi’s  door  by 
a  verdict  of  public  opinion  practically  unanimous;  but 

468 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


it  has  been  left  to  the  pamphleteers  and  annalists  of  the 
Republic  to  set  forth  that  which  purports  to  be  definite 
evidence  of  the  crime.  How  far  this  evidence  is  based 
on  testimony  of  competent  witnesses,  and  how  far  evolved 
from  the  inner  consciousness  of  the  writers,  it  were  hard 
to  say.  All  the  narratives  in  our  possession  are  the  work 
of  men  who  set  out  with  the  avowed  purpose  of  vilifying 
the  Manchus  in  general  and  the  Old  Buddha  in  particular. 
In  describing  many  of  her  alleged  crimes — the  murder 
of  her  colleague,  the  Empress  Tzu  An;  the  debauching 
of  her  son,  T’ung  Chih;  the  killing  of  A-Lu-te,  and  the 
death  of  Kuang  Hsu — these  writers  of  Young  China  agree 
generally  in  their  conclusions,  but  they  differ  very 
materially  on  important  details  of  evidence,  and  their 
work,  as  a  whole,  suggests  constructive  memory  developed 
to  a  very  high  degree  of  elasticity. 

The  following  extracts  from  the  recent  work  of  four 
such  writers  are  reproduced  in  order  that  the  reader 
may  form  an  impression  of  the  opinion  in  which  the  great 
Empress  Dowager  was  held  during  her  lifetime,  not 
only  by  the  ever-turbulent  spirits  of  Canton,  but  by 
many  of  her  detractors  and  secret  enemies  in  the  North. 
Whatever  the  truth  or  untruth  of  their  conclusions  in 
regard  to  the  personal  blood-guiltiness  of  the  Empress 
Dowager,  they  present,  separately  and  collectively,  a 
lamentable  picture  of  the  inner  life  of  the  Forbidden 
City,  where  corruption  festered  around  the  foundations 
of  the  Dragon  Throne,  and  where,  in  the  shadows  of  the 
stately  halls,  love  and  pleasure  ran  swiftly,  the  grim 
Fates  pursuing. 

The  first  is  the  work  of  the  brilliant  scholar  P’an 
Tsu-yin,  a  leader  of  the  Southern  party  at  Peking,  in  the 
early  ’nineties,  who  died  in  1897.  His  memoirs  were 
published  by  his  grandson,  one  of  the  Shanghai  revolution¬ 
aries,  shortly  after  the  abdication  of  the  Manchus.  P’an 
Tsu-yin  calls  his  reminiscences  Random  Notes  from  the 

469 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


Chamber  of  the  Cloudy  Sea,  this  being  the  poetical  name 
which  he  gave  to  his  studio.  For  several  years  he  was 
employed  in  the  Palace  as  a  sort  of  poet  laureate,  his 
duty  being  to  compose  Imperial  inscriptions  in  the  Palace 
library.  The  following  paper,  dealing  with  Tzu  Hsi’s 
first  emergence  into  the  arena  of  State  affairs,  was  written 
in  April  1880  : 

“  When  Su  Shun  was  beheaded,  after  the  abortive 
conspiracy  of  the  usurping  Regents  in  1861,  official 
pronouncements  and  common  report  agreed  in  expressing 
the  conviction  that  he  had  plotted  high  treason  and 
cherished  designs  upon  the  Throne  after  the  death  of 
Hsien  Feng,  and  that  a  coup  de  main  by  his  faction  was 
only  averted  by  Tzu  Hsi’s  resource  and  courage.  Her 
prompt  and  decisive  action  in  putting  him  and  his  fellow 
conspirators  to  death  has  been  lauded  to  the  skies  by 
many  writers.  Yet  the  commonly  received  version  of 
this  incident  is  very  wide  of  the  truth,  as  I,  who  have 
been  intimately  associated  with  Palace  affairs  for  many 
years,  have  good  reason  to  know.  The  Western  Empress’s 
real  reason  for  putting  Su  Shun  to  death  was  that  he 
knew  too  much  about  her,  and  had  therefore  to  be  put 
out  of  the  way.  Dead  men  tell  no  tales. 

“  When  Tzu  Hsi  was  first  admitted  into  the  Palace,  she 
was  not  an  Imperial  concubine,  but  only  a  handmaiden 
of  very  low  rank.  Duties  were  assigned  to  her  at  the 
Summer  Palace  in  an  outlying  building  called  ‘  The 
deep  recesses  of  the  plane  trees.’  There  she  performed 
her  allotted  tasks,  embroidery  and  other  duties  suitable 
to  females,  with  diligence.  One  of  her  chief  gifts  was 
a  charming  voice ;  she  knew  many  Southern  songs,  which 
she  had  learned  from  a  nurse  who  had  been  with  her 
since  her  birth  in  the  South.  One  day  when  Hsien  Feng 
was  strolling  in  the  grounds  of  Yuan-Ming-yuan,  he  heard 
from  a  grove  close  by  a  delicate  voice  trilling  a  Southern 

470 


Ladies  of  the  Court  working  at  Embroidery. 
(From  a  painting  by  Chiu  Ying  [fifteenth  century ]  in  the  British  Museum.) 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


air.  Greatly  charmed,  the  monarch  proceeded  to  make 
the  acquaintance  of  the  fair  singer.  This  was  his  first 
meeting  with  Yehonala,  for  on  entering  the  Palace  she 
had  passed  before  Tao  Kuang  and  his  mother,  and  he 
never  had  seen  her.  He  spent  the  following  evening 
in  her  company;  she  proved  herself  an  adept  flatterer, 
and  was  clever  enough  not  to  appear  servile.  She 
anticipated  all  the  Emperor’s  wants  and  so  delighted  him 
by  her  espieglerie  and  power  of  mimicry,  that  on  the 
following  morning  he  took  her  back  with  him  to  Peking. 
In  due  course  she  bore  him  an  heir,  and  from  that  day 
her  high  destinies  were  assured. 

“  On  the  occurrence  of  this  auspicious  event  she  was 
raised  to  the  rank  of  Imperial  concubine,  in  accordance 
with  Manchu  custom.  Her  elevation  to  this  high  rank 
completely  changed  her  disposition ;  she  grew  most 
haughty  and  unruly.  To  the  Emperor  she  was  contumaci¬ 
ous  and  wilful;  to  her  colleagues,  overbearing  and  sar¬ 
castic.  She  acted  as  if  the  future  were  absolutely  in  her 
hands,  and  Hsien  Feng  was  quite  unable  to  exercise  any 
authority  over  her.  He  could  not  even  restrain  her 
indulging  in  unseemly  dalliance  with  a  young  officer  of 
the  Guard,  a  kinsman  of  her  own,  Jung  Lu.  The  Taiping 
rebellion  gave  her  splendid  opportunities  for  intriguing 
and  forming  cabals;  the  Throne  was  at  its  wits’  end  and 
the  dynasty  seemed  to  be  doomed.  Yehonala  took 
command  of  the  situation,  and  by  recommending  this 
or  that  officer  for  preferment  at  Court  steadily  increased 
the  number  of  her  faithful  henchmen. 

“  Her  power  grew  apace  and  soon  overshadowed  that  of 
the  Emperor  himself;  State  papers  were  submitted  for 
her  inspection  :  all  the  while,  the  weak  monarch  regarded 
her  with  increasing  jealousy  and  hatred.  At  that  time 
Su  Shun  was  by  far  the  most  prominent  member  of  the 
Imperial  Clan.  Hsien  Feng  delighted  to  honour  him  and 
always  sought  his  society  in  preference  to  that  of  his  own 

471 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


sulky  brother,  Prince  Kung.  No  one  else  at  Court 
rivalled  him  in  the  Imperial  favour.  Yehonala  knew  that 
she  had  forfeited  the  Emperor’s  regard,  and  was  therefore 
anxious  to  win  Su  Shun  to  her  side ;  she  did  so  in  the  only 
way  open  to  a  woman,  by  tempting  him  to  woo  her. 
Su  Shun  told  her  plainly  that  too  many  men  had  known 
her  charms  for  him  to  wish  to  make  one  of  that  great 
company,  and  from  that  day  Yehonala’s  resentment 
against  him  burned  fiercely. 

“  On  the  occasion  of  the  Dragon  Festival,  she  persuaded 
the  Emperor  to  take  her  on  a  boating  excursion.  Yeho¬ 
nala,  an  adept  with  the  oar,  entered  the  boat  first  and  stood 
waiting  for  Hsien  Feng  and  Su  Shun  to  embark.  Just 
as  the  Son  of  Heaven  was  getting  in,  she  suddenly  dipped 
her  oar,  causing  the  boat  to  tilt,  whereupon  Hsien  Feng 
took  an  undignified  header  into  the  water,  besides  hurt¬ 
ing  his  foot.  This  act  of  mischievous  effrontery  infuriated 
the  Emperor.  It  was  about  this  time  that  his  sister, 
the  Princess  Imperial,  reminded  him  of  the  ancient 
prophecy  :  4  The  Manchu  house  will  be  overthrown 

because  of  a  warrior  woman  of  the  Yehonala  Clan.’ 
He  remarked  to  Su  Shun,  in  the  hearing  of  a  eunuch, 
who  told  me  these  facts  :  4  I  propose  before  long  to  follow 
the  example  of  the  founder  of  the  later  Han  dynasty 
(a.d.  30)  who  decreed  the  execution  of  his  concubine 
Kouyi.  What  do  you  say  ?  Shall  I  kill  the  Imperial 
concubine,  or  not?  ’  Su  Shun  declined  to  utter  an 
opinion,  but  his  silence  was  construed  by  the  Emperor 
as  assent.  The  same  eunuch  who  informed  me  of  these 
things,  told  Yehonala  of  her  husband’s  proposal.  Her 
proud  spirit  was  curbed  for  a  while,  but  she  lost  no 
opportunity  for  consolidating  her  position,  and  the 
Emperor’s  increasing  debility  made  it  difficult  for  him 
to  take  any  decided  action.  At  this  juncture,  the  war 
with  the  barbarians  broke  out.  Hsien  Feng  became 
paralysed  with  fear  and  fled  from  Peking  in  spite  of 

472 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


Yehonala’ s  remonstrances.  At  Jehol  his  health  grew 
rapidly  worse  :  he  fell  into  a  state  of  chronic  melancholy, 
shut  up  Yehonala  in  one  of  the  side  Palaces  and  forbade 
all  intercourse  with  her.  But  for  the  loyalty  of  some  of 
her  admirers  she  would  probably  have  starved  to  death. 

“As  he  lay  dying,  the  Emperor  determined  that  his 
guilty  consort  should  not  live  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  her 
scheming.  With  his  own  hand  he  penned  a  valedictory 
decree,  brief  and  explicit  :  ‘  After  Our  death  you  are 
commanded  to  slay  the  Western  Empress,  so  that  she 
may  attend  Our  spirit  in  the  next  world.  She  must  not 
be  allowed  to  live  and  by  her  misdeeds  overturn  Our 
dynasty.’  Hsien  Feng  sent  for  Su  Shun  and  handed 
him  this  mandate,  with  orders  to  see  to  its  due  execution. 
Su  Shun  placed  it  inside  the  Imperial  pillow;  it  had  to 
remain  in  the  death  chamber,  lest  men  should  say  it 
was  forged. 

“  Now  it  happened  that  a  young  eunuch  named  Li 
Lien-ying,  in  attendance  on  the  Emperor,  was  an  expert 
masseur  and  his  ministrations  gave  some  relief  to  the 
dying  monarch,  whose  limbs  were  racked  by  rheumatic 
pains.  He  was  waiting  in  the  antechamber  whilst  the 
Emperor  was  conversing  with  Su  Shun,  and  having  over¬ 
heard  the  decree,  hurried  off  to  inform  Yehonala.  Prince 
Ch’un  and  his  wife  (sister  of  Tzu  Hsi)  were  in  Jehol 
at  the  time,  and  were  waiting  in  the  Palace,  expecting  at 
any  moment  to  hear  of  the  Emperor’s  death.  Li  Lien- 
ying  managed  to  get  word  to  Princess  Ch’un  of  the  fatal 
decree,  and  implored  her  to  succour  her  beloved  sister. 
On  the  announcement  being  made  that  the  Emperor 
was  being  arrayed  in  his  robes  of  longevity  (i.  e.  that  he 
was  in  extremis )  the  Princess  was  admitted  into  the  chamber 
to  assist  in  performing  the  last  rites.  Tzu  Hsi  was 
also  released  from  her  confinement,  and  entered  the  death 
chamber  with  her  son,  the  Heir  to  the  Throne.  The 
Senior  Empress,  Tzu  An,  had  the  decree  in  her  hand,  but 

473 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


Yehonala  and  her  sister  between  them  persuaded  her  to 
give  it  up,  and  promptly  burned  it.  It  was  commonly 
believed  that  Tzu  An  voluntarily  surrendered  it,  not 
wishing  to  make  trouble  at  such  a  time,  firstly,  because 
she  had  no  love  for  Su  Shun,  and  secondly,  because  she 
had  in  her  possession  another  similar  document  which 
authorised  her  to  slay  Yehonala  if  at  any  time  her  conduct 
should  prove  a  danger  to  the  State.  At  any  rate  the 
fatal  decree  was  burnt;  Su  Shun  re-entered  the  death 
chamber  after  the  final  offices  had  been  performed,  and 
inquired  at  what  hour  His  Majesty  had  ascended  on  high, 
because  custom  prescribed  that  this  should  be  inserted  in 
the  Imperial  decree  announcing  the  sovereign’s  demise. 
Tzu  Hsi  angrily  took  out  the  watch  which  she  wore  at  her 
girdle,  and  turning  its  face  towards  Su  Shun,  exclaimed 
in  a  freezing  tone  :  4  See  for  yourself ;  he  died  only  a 
moment  ago.’  She  did  not  wish  it  to  appear  that  any 
interval  had  occurred  which  would  justify  suspicion  as 
to  the  destroying  of  papers.  From  that  day  she 
made  up  her  mind  to  put  Su  Shun  to  death.  She  knew 
that  several  people  in  the  Palace  were  aware  of  the 
Emperor’s  intention  to  remove  her,  so  that  Su  Shun’s 
death  was  necessary  to  ensure  her  own  safety.  How  true 
is  the  saying  in  the  Odes  :  4  Truculent  is  the  feminine 
nature  !  ’  Yehonala  was  a  she- wolf  at  heart,  though  in 
saying  this  I  know  that  I  am  guilty  of  presumption 
towards  one  who  has  shown  me  favour.” 

We  turn  next  to  a  memoir  or  pamphlet,  circulated  over 
the  signature  of  44  An  Anhui  official.”  After  referring 
to  the  fact  that  the  Manchus  first  became  a  power  by 
their  subjugation  of  the  Yeho  tribe,  and  that  they  lost 
their  Empire  as  the  result  of  the  ascendancy  of  the 
Yeho  Clan  (wherein  he  descries  the  inexorable  whirligig 
of  Time),  this  writer  proceeds  to  explain  Tzu  Hsi’s 
responsibility  for  the  Manchu  decadence,  as  follows  : 

474 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


“  At  the  beginning  of  Hsien  Feng’s  reign,  the  young 
Emperor  created  a  very  favourable  impression.  But 
the  anxiety  induced  by  the  successes  of  the  Taiping 
rebels,  and  the  temptations  placed  in  his  way  by  the 
Court  eunuchs,  led  him  before  long  into  evil  courses  of 
debauchery,  in  which  he  eventually  became  hopelessly 
involved.  Wearying  of  the  Manchu  women  of  whom  his 
harem  was  composed,  he  turned  a  willing  ear  to  the 
beguilements  of  Su  Shun,  who  played  on  his  weaknesses 
chiefly  in  order  to  lessen  the  influence  of  Yehonala. 
With  the  help  of  the  Chief  eunuch,  Su  Shun  procured 
thirty  beautiful  Chinese  maidens  from  Kiangsu  and 
Chekiang  and  brought  them  to  Peking.  Now  there  is 
a  dynastic  house-law  of  the  Manchus  which  forbids  the 
introduction  of  Chinese  women  into  the  Imperial  City.1 
Su  Shun  accordingly  suggested  to  Hsien  Feng  that  the 
disturbed  state  of  the  Empire  justified  special  precautions 
for  his  personal  safety  at  the  Summer  Palace,  and  he 
therefore  advised  him  to  employ  these  thirty  Chinese 
women  as  a  special  bodyguard  on  night  duty  in  the 
proximity  of  the  Imperial  bedchamber.  They  were  to 
be  divided  into  watches,  of  three  women  each,  and  beat 
the  watch  rattle  in  the  courtyard  adjoining  Hsien  Feng’s 
apartments.  Hsien  Feng  found  the  idea  attractive,  and 
the  Palace  Amazons  became  a  feature  of  his  Court. 

“  Although  Yehonala  had  given  him  an  Heir  to  the 
Throne,  Hsien  Feng  greatly  disliked  her,  and  frequently 
discussed  with  Su  Shun  the  advisability  of  deposing  her. 
On  his  death-bed  he  wrote  a  valedictory  Edict  which  he 
handed  to  his  consort  (Tzu  An)  in  which  he  said  :  ‘  The 
Western  Concubine  being  mother  of  the  new  Emperor, 

1  This  law  was  introduced  by  the  mother  of  Shun  Chih,  the  first 
Manchu  Emperor,  in  order  to  guard  her  son  against  debauchery  and 
to  preserve  the  purity  of  the  Manchu  stock.  She  had  an  iron  pillar 
erected  at  the  entrance  to  the  Palace,  bearing  the  inscription,  “  If 
any  females  with  small  feet  dare  to  pass  this  gate,  let  them  be  summarily 
beheaded.” 


475 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


it  will  be  necessary  to  raise  her  to  the  rank  of  Empress 
Dowager.  But  she  is  utterly  untrustworthy,  and  capable 
of  any  crime.  Do  not  let  her  influence  you  in  matters  of 
government,  but  decide  everything  for  yourself.  If  she 
behaves  herself,  well  and  good ;  treat  her  with  all  kind¬ 
ness.  But  if  her  misdeeds  become  flagrant,  you  must 
summon  the  chief  Ministers  to  your  presence  and  show 
them  this  decree,  which  authorises  you  to  compel  her 
to  commit  suicide.’  Hsien  Feng  never  contemplated 
the  joint  Regency  :  the  valedictory  decree  subsequently 
produced  by  Yehonala  was  forged  for  her  by  Li  Hung-tsao. 

“  Upon  Hsien  Feng’s  demise,  a  clear  distinction  was  at 
once  drawn  between  the  two  Empresses  :  the  senior, 
Tzu  An,  received  the  higher  title  of  ‘  Empress  Mother,’ 
while  to  Yehonala  was  given  the  inferior  appellation  of 
‘  Holy  Mother.’  [To  a  European  the  distinction  is 
hardly  apparent;  suffice  it  to  say,  that  in  Chinese  eyes 
there  exists  a  real  gulf  between  the  two  titles.]  There 
was  a  precedent  for  thus  lowering  the  rank  of  the  Emperor’s 
actual  parent  in  the  reign  of  Wan  Li  [sixteenth  century], 
where  a  similar  course  had  been  adopted  to  thwart  an 
ambitious  woman.  Yehonala  was  furious,  and  intrigued 
to  such  effect  that  she  soon  secured  a  title  which  gave 
her  rank  with,  but  after,  the  Senior  Empress.  She  became 
the  ‘  Motherly  and  Auspicious,’  a  title  which,  for  experts 
in  lionorifics,  is  only  a  little  less  elevated  than  the  ‘  Motherly 
and  Peace-giving,’  which  designated  Tzu  An. 

“  At  Jehol,  Yehonala  first  threw  out  suggestions  of 
her  scheme  for  seizing  the  Regency  to  some  of  the 
Council.  The  idea  met  with  no  enthusiasm,  as  was  evident 
from  the  demeanour  of  the  Ministers,  but  none  of  them 
dared  openly  to  oppose  the  masterful  young  woman, 
except  Tu  Han,  who  boldly  rebuked  her  and  pointed  out 
that  such  a  course  would  constitute  a  flagrant  violation 
of  dynastic  house-law.  Yehonala  said  no  more  at  the 
time.  The  Empresses’  Regency  was  thus  unwelcome 

476 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


to  the  Court  when  first  mooted;  if  it  subsequently  came 
to  be  well  received,  this  was  because  Su  Shun  made 
himself  highly  unpopular  by  his  overbearing  manners 
and  by  his  openly  expressed  contempt  for  certain  Princes 
of  the  Imperial  Clan,  who  headed  a  strong  party  against 
him.  Posterity  has  done  scant  justice  to  Su  Shun 
because  of  his  high  stomach.  The  man  was  really  far 
from  bad,  and  infinitely  less  venal  than  most  of  his 
contemporaries.  At  least  he  was  no  bigoted  Manchu, 
and  it  was  chiefly  through  his  influence  that  high  military 
commands  were  given  to  Chinese  like  Hu  Lin-yi  and  Tso 
Tsung-t’ang.  At  Court  they  called  him  the  4  Emperor’s 
alarum.’ 

44  As  to  Tzu  Hsi :  4  The  true  story  of  the  inner  Chamber 
cannot  be  told  in  its  entirety.’  1  The  Empire  soon 
learned  to  know  only  too  well  what  were  the  morals 
of  the  Empress  :  her  liaison  with  An  Te-hai,  who  was 
no  eunuch,  was  in  all  men’s  mouths.  It  was  rumoured 
at  one  time  that  she  was  enceinte ,  and  people  whispered 
that,  if  T’ung  Chih  died  without  an  heir,  the  next 
Emperor  would  be  illegitimate,  like  the  4  First  Emperor  ’ 
of  the  Chin  dynasty.  It  was  because  of  this  scandal 
that  the  Empress  Tzu  An  decided  to  kill  An  Te-hai. 
His  remains  were  never  exhibited  to  the  public,  lest  the 
fact  should  come  to  light  that  he  was  not  a  eunuch. 

44  When  the  time  came  for  the  marriage  of  her  son, 
T’ung  Chih,  Yehonala  was  very  anxious  that  a  daughter 
of  Feng  Hsia  should  become  Empress  Consort,  but  in 
this  she  was  thwarted  by  Tzu  An.  A-Lu-te,  who  was 
chosen,  was  chaste  and  well-read.  Chastity  had  no 
charms  for  Tzu  Hsi,  who  alternately  flouted  and  ignored 
her.  She  even  went  so  far  as  to  forbid  the  Emperor 
to  visit  his  Consort,  and  compelled  him  to  pass  his  time 
in  the  company  of  Lady  Feng,  who  had  been  given  the 
title  of  4  Discerning  Concubine.’  T’ung  Chih  soon 

1  A  quotation  from  the  Odes. 

477 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


wearied  of  the  Discerning  one,  and  for  a  time  spent  his 
nights  in  solitude  at  the  Palace  of  Celestial  Purity.  It 
was  not  to  be  wondered  at,  perhaps,  under  these  cir¬ 
cumstances,  that  the  eunuchs  soon  persuaded  him  to 
accompany  them  on  long  nocturnal  excursions  to  the 
gay  quarter  of  the  capital;  on  these  occasions  he  passed 
as  the  ‘  licentiate  Ch’en  from  Kiangsi.’  On  one  of 
these  outings  he  met  in  a  tavern  the  Vice-president 
Mao  Chang-hsi,  and  nodded  to  him  affably.  Mao  was 
greatly  alarmed  and  promptly  informed  the  police  that 
the  Son  of  Heaven  was  leaving  the  Palace  incognito,  so 
that  after  this  T’ung  Chih’s  steps  were  dogged  by  a  number 
of  guards.  T’ung  Chih  was  far  from  gratified  by  these 
attentions  and  at  the  next  audience  expostulated  strongly 
with  Mao  for  not  minding  his  own  business. 

“  When  the  Emperor  fell  ill  of  the  disease  which  proved 
fatal,  Tzu  An  sent  for  the  Empress  A-Lu-te  and  com¬ 
forted  her  by  allowing  her  to  minister  to  her  husband. 
Now  it  is  an  old  custom  of  the  Palace  that  whenever  the 
Emperor  desires  to  visit  any  one  of  his  concubines,  an 
order  in  writing  must  first  be  sent  by  the  Empress  Consort 
bidding  the  favoured  one  to  await  the  coming  of  the  Son 
of  Heaven.  This  order  must  be  sealed  with  the  Empress’s 
seal,  for  without  her  authority  the  concubine  is  not 
permitted  to  give  admission  to  the  Emperor.  [This 
has  been  the  rule  ever  since  the  attempt  to  assassinate 
the  Emperor  Chia  Ch’ing  in  1542,  when  Yang  Chin-ying 
attacked  him  in  one  of  the  concubines’  apartments.] 
When  T’ung  Chih  was  ill  and  quite  unfit  to  leave  his  bed 
he  nevertheless  persuaded  his  Consort  to  seal  an  order 
authorising  a  visit  to  one  of  his  concubines.  Shortly 
after  this,  his  condition  became  desperate,  and  realising 
that  the  end  was  near,  he  sent  for  Li  Hung-tsao,  in  whom 
he  trusted,  and  on  his  coming,  bade  him  raise  the  curtain 
and  enter  the  bedchamber.  A-Lu-te,  who  was  standing 
by  the  bed,  wished  to  withdraw,  but  T’ung  Chih  stopped 

478 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


her,  saying  :  ‘  The  Imperial  Tutor  is  the  old  and  trusted 
servant  of  the  late  Emperor  :  you  may  stay  and  hear 
what  I  have  to  say.’  Li  went  down  on  his  knees  and 
made  obeisance  :  T’ung  Chih  bade  him  arise,  saying  : 
‘  This  is  no  time  for  ceremony.’  Then,  taking  Li’s 
hand,  he  went  on  :  ‘I  am  dying.’  Both  Li  and  A-Lu-te 
began  to  weep,  but  he  told  them  to  desist  and  listen,  as 
his  time  was  very  short.  Turning  to  his  wife,  he  asked  : 
‘  In  the  event  of  my  death,  who,  think  you,  should 
succeed  me  ?  ’  She  replied  :  ‘  The  nation  needs  a  ruler 
who  has  attained  to  manhood.  I  have  no  desire  to  be 
Empress  Dowager  and  to  have  the  charge  of  an  infant 
Emperor.  A  minority  would  be  a  disaster  to  China.’ 
The  Emperor  smiled  :  ‘  That  is  well.  I  am  delighted  that 
you  realise  this;  I  need  not  be  uneasy  any  more.’  He 
next  told  Li  that  he  wished  his  first  cousin  the  Beileh 
Tsai  Ch’u,  son  of  the  ninth  Prince,  to  succeed  him  as  heir 
to  Hsien  Feng.1  He  then  dictated  his  valedictory  decree, 
which  he  bade  Li  copy  out  by  his  bedside.  It  contained 
about  a  thousand  characters  and  introduced  elaborate 
safeguards  against  his  mother’s  usurpation  of  power.  The 
dying  man  perused  it  with  satisfaction,  saying  :  4  Capital ! 
Go  now  and  rest ;  I  may  see  you  again  before  the  end.’ 

4 4  Li  Hung-tsao  left  the  Palace  deadly  pale  and  trembling 
violently;  no  wonder,  for  he  hurried  straight  to  Tzu 
Hsi’s  Palace  and  demanded  immediate  audience  of  her. 
Yehonala  bade  him  enter,  whereupon,  without  prelimin¬ 
aries,  he  produced  the  valedictory  decree  from  his  sleeve. 
Her  Majesty  read  it  with  her  usual  unmoved  calm  : 
but  at  the  end  her  rage  burst  forth.  She  rose  from  her 
seat,  tore  the  paper  into  pieces  and  trampled  them  under 
her  feet.  4  Leave  us  at  once,’  she  said  to  Li.  She  then 
gave  orders  that  no  more  medicine  or  food  of  any  kind 

1  This  Prince  was  sent  to  prison  by  Tzu  Hsi  in  1898,  after  the  coup 
d’etat ;  his  rank  was  restored  to  him  by  the  Regent,  Prince  Ch’un,  on 
the  day  of  Yuan  Shih-k’ai’s  downfall  in  1909. 

479 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


was  to  be  taken  to  the  Emperor;  and  no  one  was  to  go 
near  him.  She  herself  hurried  to  her  son’s  apartment 
only  to  find  him  already  dead.  Tzu  Hsi  always  remained 
grateful  to  Li  for  this  act  of  treachery.  True,  she 
dismissed  him  from  the  Council  in  1884,  but  ten  years 
later  he  was  again  high  in  office,  and  after  his  death 
he  received  the  highest  possible  title  of  canonisation, 
‘  Learned  and  Orthodox.’  Li  Hung-chang  used  to  say  that 
this  one  act  of  the  Imperial  Tutor  had  done  more  than  any 
other  to  bring  the  house  of  Gioro  to  ruin,  owing  to  the  harm 
Tzu  Hsi’s  second  Regency  did  to  China.  After  the  coup 
d'etat  in  1898,  he  narrated  the  whole  incident  to  Ma  Chien- 
chung,  one  of  his  secretaries,  and  added  :  ‘  Li  Hung-tsao 
ruined  the  dynasty  by  that  one  act  of  his.  We  have  him 
to  thank  for  the  war  with  Japan  and  all  our  subsequent 
misfortunes.’ 1  It  was  Ma  who  told  me  the  facts. 

“  It  was  dusk  when  T’ung  Chih  died;  the  Grand  Council 
were  summoned  at  once  to  the  side  hall,  but  they  found 
there  Yehonala  alone.  She  was  standing  beside  the 
Throne,  wearing  her  every-day  costume.  The  Princes 
and  Ministers  inquired  after  His  Majesty;  the  news  of 
his  decease  being  as  yet  unknown.  Yehonala  smiled  : 
‘Oh!  His  Majesty  is  in  splendid  health,’  she  said.  That 
was  all,  but  the  Court  knew  that  the  Emperor  was  dead. 

“  A  moment  later,  suddenly  forcing  an  angry  tone, 
Tzu  Hsi  exclaimed  :  ‘  The  Emperor  is  dead,’  and  then 
went  on,  ‘  This  is  no  time  for  ceremony ;  we  have  im¬ 
portant  business  before  us.’  During  the  discussion  which 
followed,  only  Wen  Hsiang  opposed  Tzu  Hsi,  and  pressed 
for  the  appointment  of  an  heir  to  T’ung  Chih  instead  of  to 
Hsien  Feng.  He  was  greatly  indignant  at  the  wrong  done 
to  T’ung  Chih,2  whom  he  only  survived  by  a  few  months. 

1  It  is  only  fair  to  say  that,  in  the  opinion  of  his  countrymen,  Li 
Hung-Chang  himself  was  chiefly  to  blame  for  the  war  with  Japan  and 
China’s  ignominious  defeat. 

2  Vide  China  under  the  Empress  Dowager,  p.  135. 

480 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


“  During  the  first  years  of  Kuang  Hsu’s  reign,  Tzu  Hsi 
took  but  little  interest  in  the  government,  and  frequently 
abstained  from  appearing  at  audiences.  This  was  in 
itself  significant,  and  when,  in  February  1881,  she  was 
taken  ill,  and  remained  confined  to  her  rooms  for  two 
months,  it  was  generally  believed  that  she  gave  birth 
to  a  child,  of  whom  Jung  Lu  was  believed  to  be 
the  father.  As  it  would  have  been  contrary  to  etiquette 
for  the  Court  physician  to  give  her  prescriptions  appro¬ 
priate  for  an  illness  resulting  from  confinement  (Yehonala 
being  a  widow),  they  treated  her  as  if  for  dysentery,  and 
her  state,  instead  of  improving,  grew  worse.  It  was  not  till 
Dr.  Hsieh  Fu-chen  was  summoned  from  Kiangsu  that  he 
diagnosed  her  complaint  correctly,  but  in  ordering  the 
proper  remedies  he  was  careful  to  write  at  the  top  of  the 
prescription  ‘  For  dysentery,’  so  that  the  august  patient 
might  not  lose  face.  [All  prescriptions  for  the  Palace 
must  be  recorded  in  the  archives  of  the  Court  of 
Physicians.] 

“  Tzu  An  had  discovered  her  colleague  in  several 
equivocal  situations,  and  was  well  aware  of  her  lack  of 
feminine  virtue,  but  she  was  of  a  generous  and  tolerant 
nature.  On  Tzu  Hsi’s  recovery  from  the  illness  above 
mentioned,  the  Eastern  Empress  invited  her  to  a  party 
to  celebrate  the  event.  After  the  wine  cup  had  been 
passed  three  times,  Tzu  An  dismissed  all  the  attendants, 
desiring  to  appeal  to  Tzu  Hsi’s  better  nature  by  talking 
confidentially  over  old  times.  She  referred  to  their  child¬ 
hood  and  to  her  father’s  kindness  to  the  stricken  family 
of  Yehonala,  and  then  she  spoke  of  the  flight  to  Jehol 
and  the  plot  of  Tsai-yuan,  which  so  nearly  brought  ruin 
to  them  both.  Yehonala  affected  to  be  deeply  moved, 
and  shed  many  tears  during  this  recital.  The  Eastern 
Empress  proceeded  :  ‘  We  are  both  getting  old,  my 
sister;  it  may  not  be  long  before  one  of  us  rejoins  our 
lord  and  master  Hsien  Feng  in  the  Halls  of  the  Lower 
1 1  481 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


World.  We  have  spent  some  twenty  years  together, 
and  on  the  whole  we  have  never  had  a  real  disagreement. 
Now,  I  have  in  my  possession  something  which  I  received 
from  His  late  Majesty  and  which  has  become  of  no  value. 
I  am  afraid  of  its  being  discovered  in  the  event  of  my 
death,  in  which  case  people  might  be  led  to  suppose  that 
our  relations  had  only  been  friendly  on  the  surface,  and 
that  we  were  really  at  enmity.  This  would  be  a  pity 
indeed,  and  would  be  contrary  to  the  late  Emperor’s 
wish.’  With  these  words  she  produced  a  paper  from  her 
sleeve  and  handed  it  to  Yehonala,  who  read  it,  turned 
ghastly  pale,  and  could  hardly  master  her  feelings.  For 
the  document  was  the  mandate  given  to  Tzu  An  by 
Hsien  Feng,  as  he  lay  dying,  authorising  her  to  kill 
Tzu  Hsi  if  necessary.  When  Tzu  Hsi  had  i\^d  it 
through,  Tzu  An  asked  for  it  again,  saying  :  ‘  Do  not 

be  angry,  sister.  Be  sure  I  should  not  have  let  you  see 
this  if  I  had  harboured  any  feelings  against  you.  I 
wished  you  to  see  it,  that  you  might  realise  the  very  real 
affection  that  I  have  for  you.’  She  then  took  the  paper 
and  burnt  it  before  Tzu  Hsi’s  eyes,  saying,  with  a  smile  : 
‘  It  is  worthless  now,  and  had  better  be  destroyed. 
I  feel  that  I  have  done  my  duty  by  His  Majesty  and  have 
fulfilled  his  wishes.’  Yehonala  was  enraged  beyond 
measure,  but  managed  to  hide  her  feelings.  She  pre¬ 
tended  even  to  shed  tears  of  penitent  gratitude,  and  clasped 
Tzii  An’s  hand,  while  her  breast  heaved  with  sobs.  Tzu 
An  consoled  her  and  advised  her  to  return  to  her  Palace 
and  rest.  It  was  then  that  Tzu  Hsi  made  up  her  mind 
to  kill  the  Eastern  Empress.  So  true  is  the  adage  that 
‘  He  who  is  not  accustomed  to  train  savage  beasts  should 
do  nothing  to  goad  them  to  fury.’  Tzu  An  would  have 
done  well  to  remember  this  saying. 

“  A  few  days  later  Tzu  An  visited  her  colleague  and  found 
her  quite  unlike  her  haughty  self;  she  was  a  model  of 
submissive  affection,  so  that  the  eunuch  attendants  could 

482 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


not  understand  what  had  come  over  their  mistress.  As 
for  Tzu  An,  she  congratulated  herself  on  her  wise  diplo¬ 
macy  and  fancied  that  she  had  curbed  Yehonala’s  proud 
spirit  for  ever.  Before  leaving,  Tzu  An  complained  of 
feeling  hungry;  Tzu  Hsi  thereupon  ordered  Li  Lien-ying 
to  bring  up  a  tray  full  of  sweet  cakes.  Tzu  An  took 
several  and  found  them  far  more  palatable  than  those 
served  to  her  from  the  Imperial  kitchen.  Yehonala 
was  glad  and  said  :  ‘  Oh  !  these  are  made  by  my  sister, 
the  Duchess  Chao.  If  you  like  them,  I  will  send  word 
to  her  to-morrow  and  she  will  make  some  more.’  Tzu 
An  thanked  her,  and  Yehonala  said  smilingly  :  ‘  My 

family  is  as  your  family.  How,  then,  should  my  sister 
be  deemed  worthy  of  your  thanks  ?  ’  Two  days  later 
the  Duchess  Chao  duly  furnished  several  boxes  of  cakes 
precisely  similar  in  appearance  to  those  which  Tzu  An 
had  so  greatly  enjoyed.  Tzu  An  ate  one  or  two  and 
found  the  flavour  somewhat  bitter.  Before  sundown  she 
was  dead — poisoned. 

“  Now  it  chanced  that,  on  the  previous  evening,  Tzu  An 
had  not  been  feeling  quite  well,  and  had  sent  for  the  same 
physician  who  had  treated  Yehonala  so  successfully, 
Dr.  Hsieh  Fu-chen.  He  advised  her,  in  a  memorial, 
that  there  was  nothing  much  the  matter,  and  that  she 
did  not  need  medicine.  The  eunuchs  insisted,  however, 
on  his  prescribing,  so  he  gave  her  a  cooling  mixture  and 
withdrew.  Next  day  he  went  to  call  on  his  friend, 
Yen  Ching-ming,  the  Grand  Secretary,  and  while  the 
two  were  chatting,  one  of  Yen’s  secretaries  came  from 
the  Board  of  Revenue  with  a  document  for  his  Chief 
to  sign.  He  mentioned  that,  when  he  left  the  office, 
a  rumour  was  in  circulation  that  the  Eastern  Empress 
had  expired.  ‘  They  were  ordering  the  “  auspicious 
boards  ”  1  to  be  prepared,’  said  he.  Dr.  Hsieh  could  not 
believe  his  ears,  and  dropped  the  cup  he  had  in  his  hand, 
1  In  the  Palace  an  Imperial  coffin  is  thus  described. 

488 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


exclaiming,  ‘  I  saw  Her  Majesty  only  a  very  short  while 
ago  and  she  had  nothing  but  a  slight  chill.  It  is  im¬ 
possible  that  it  could  have  proved  fatal.  It  is  far  more 
likely  that  the  Western  Empress  has  had  a  relapse,  and 
that  some  mistake  has  occurred  by  confusing  the  names.’ 
Presently,  however,  one  of  the  Household  came  to  tell 
the  fatal  news.  When  Dr.  Hsieh  heard  it,  he  was  greatly 
distressed  and  said  :  ‘  There  are  stranger  things  in 

Heaven  and  earth  than  ever  I  dreamed  of.  What  have 
I  to  live  for  now  ?  ’  Because  of  his  skill  in  medicine 
he  had  recently  been  promoted  to  be  Lieutenant-General 
of  a  Banner. 

“  During  Tzu  Hsi’s  sickness,  audiences  had  ^een  held  by 
Tzu  An  alone.  That  evening,  when  Tso  Tsung-t’ang 
attended  at  the  Palace,  before  the  report  of  Tzu  An’s 
death  had  been  published,  he  inquired  how  she  was. 
They  told  him  she  was  dead,  whereat  he  was  horrified 
and  amazed  :  ‘  I  saw  her  at  audience  to-day  and  she 
spoke  with  all  her  usual  vigour ;  I  cannot  believe  that 
such  a  death  can  have  been  natural.’  Prince  Rung 
hurriedly  stopped  him  from  saying  anything  more,  but 
the  eunuchs  had  heard  him  and  duly  informed  their 
mistress.  Tso  left  the  capital  not  long  afterwards. 

“  The  collection  of  poisons  in  the  Palace  comprised  drugs 
of  such  potency  that  with  some  death  followed  on  mere 
contact  with  the  lips,  while  others  took  many  days  to 
operate  and  were  not  to  be  detected  by  any  Chinese 
methods.  Many  of  these  drugs  had  come  down  from  the 
Ming  dynasty.  Some  of  them  were  said  to  have  been 
brought  from  Italy  in  K’ang  Hsi’s  day  by  foreigners  at 
the  Court.  It  was  with  one  of  these  drugs  that  Tzu 
Hsi  poisoned  ‘  Mysterious  ’  Liu,  one  of  the  chief  eunuchs, 
whose  influence  for  a  time  exceeded  even  that  of  Li 
Lien-ying.  This  eunuch  was  senior  to  Li  in  standing, 
and  though  Li  gradually  rose  in  Yehonala’s  favour,  Liu 
continued  to  attend  Her  Majesty  daily  and  would  not  be 

484 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


supplanted  by  his  younger  rival.  Li  hated  him  and 
slandered  him  in  every  possible  way  to  the  Empress, 
but  Liu  was  very  cunning,  and  managed  to  anticipate 
calumny  with  explanations  which  always  pacified  Tzu 
Hsi.  One  day,  however,  he  offended  Her  Majesty, 
who  reproved  him  severely;  this  time,  Li’s  abuse  of  his 
rival  fell  on  attentive  ears  and  Tzu  Hsi,  giving  way  to 
a  passion  of  rage,  ordered  Liu  to  attend  her  immediately. 
When  he  appeared,  she  recapitulated  the  list  of  his 
offences,  some  thirty  in  all,  and  ended  by  saying :  ‘  Do 
you  not  think  you  merit  decapitation  ?  ’  Liu  realised 
that  there  was  no  hope,  so  kotowed,  saying :  ‘  Your 

slave  deserves  to  die  a  myriad  deaths,  but  I  implore 
the  Old  Buddha  to  remember  that  I  have  served  her,  as 
her  dog  or  her  horse,  for  thirty  years;  let  her  grant  me 
at  least  the  favour  of  dying  with  a  whole  skin.’  She 
pondered  over  this  for  a  minute,  and  replied  :  ‘  Very 
well ;  you  may  go  now,  and  await  my  further  commands.’ 
She  bade  her  handmaidens  conduct  him  to  a  small  ante¬ 
chamber  and  lock  the  door  on  him.  Then  she  burst  out 
laughing,  and  called  all  her  eunuchs  and  women  to  her 
side  :  ‘  I  have  a  new  amusement  for  you  to-day,’  she 
said.  One  of  the  women  was  told  to  bring  a  small  case 
from  her  bedroom;  Yehonala  opened  it  with  a  tiny 
key  which  she  wore  at  her  girdle.  It  contained  about 
twenty  phials,  one  of  which  she  selected  and  poured  out 
some  of  the  contents,  a  pink  powder,  into  a  wine-cup. 
She  mixed  some  water  with  this  and  bade  the  attendant 
take  it  to  Liu  and  say  that  he  was  to  drink  the  contents 
and  then  lie  quietly  down.  The  attendant  soon  returned 
and  reported  that  Liu  had  thanked  Her  Majesty  for  her 
benevolence  and  had  done  as  directed.  Tzu  Hsi  waited 
about  ten  minutes  and  then  said  :  ‘You  may  now  see 
the  fun  I  promised  you.  Open  Liu’s  door  and  see  how 
he  fares.’  The  eunuch  was  lying  apparently  asleep; 
though  dead,  he  showed  no  trace  of  suffering.  Yehonala 

185 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


had  a  heart  of  iron  :  indeed,  ‘  What  in  this  world  is 
so  truculent  as  the  feminine  nature  ?  ’  ” 

Another  memoir,  by  “  A  writer  on  Court  subjects,” 
deals  with  the  same  tragic  incident.  It  will  be  seen  that 
his  statements,  based  on  the  real  or  alleged  testimony 
of  one  of  Tzu  An’s  confidential  eunuchs,  coincide  with 
those  of  the  “  Anhui  official  ”  in  regard  to  several  of  the 
main  charges  against  Tzu  Hsi,  but  the  motives  alleged  for 
the  sending  of  the  poisoned  cakes  have  nothing  in  common 
in  the  two  narratives.  It  seems  fair  to  conclude  that  in  one 
instance  (or  both)  the  writer  has  drawn  on  his  imagination 
for  his  facts,  and  constructed  theories  which  seemed  to  him 
to  meet  the  case  and  to  supply  a  plausible  indictment. 

This  writer  professes  to  give  the  “  main  facts  concern¬ 
ing  the  sudden  death  of  Tzu  An.” 

“  When  the  Empress  Dowager  of  the  Eastern  Palace 
died  suddenly  in  1881,”  he  says,  “  suspicion  pointed 
to  Tzu  Hsi,  who  had  everything  to  gain  by  putting  her 
colleague  out  of  the  way,  but  her  guilt  remained  not 
proven,  owing  to  the  care  with  which  Palace  secrets  were 
guarded.  In  April  1908,  I  was  in  Peking,  and  happened 
to  meet  a  eunuch  in  a  shop  outside  the  Ch’ien  Men,  with 
whom  I  became  intimate.  He  had  formerly  been  Tzu 
An’s  confidential  table  boy;  his  name  was  Liu  Wen-pin. 
It  is  hard  to  say  why  Tzu  Hsi  did  not  take  his  life,  but 
the  Old  Buddha  was  always  unaccountably  loth  to  kill 
more  people  than  was  necessary.  This  man  told  me  the 
whole  story  and,  on  the  face  of  it,  I  should  think  his 
record  was  true.  He  said  : 

‘  The  elevation  of  Kuang  Hsu  to  the  Throne  was  quite 
contrary  to  the  wish  of  Tzu  An;  after  his  accession  she 
took  even  less  part  in  State  business  than  during  T’ung 
Chill’s  reign.  Above  all  things  she  hated  a  scene,  and  was 
distressed  by  her  colleague’s  somewhat  hasty  temper. 
She  took  to  religious  observances,  became  a  devout 

486 


The  Return  of  the  Court  from  Exile.  Head  of  the  Imperial  Procession. 

Peking,  January  7,  1902. 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


Buddhist,  and  fasted  on  all  the  occasions  which  custom 
enjoined.  Bonzes  attended  her  Palace  and  recited 
prayers  daily,  and  in  time  of  drought  or  flood  she  would 
pray  for  hours  together. 

4  At  that  time  the  most  fashionable  actor  in  Peking 
was  one  Yang  Yueh-lou,  remarkable  for  his  personal 
beauty  and  charm.  Tzu  Hsi  summoned  him  to  her 
Palace  to  play  before  her,  became  attracted  by  his  good 
manners  and  gift  of  ready  repartee,  and  ended  by  be¬ 
coming  intimate  with  him.  He  would  come  to  her  apart¬ 
ments  at  all  hours  of  the  day  and  night ;  finally,  she  installed 
him  as  doorkeeper,  and  although  this  caused  some  scandal, 
none  of  the  Princes  or  officials  of  the  Court  ventured  to 
remonstrate  with  her  except  one  courageous  Censor, 
who,  in  a  memorial,  plainly  hinted  at  her  flagrant  viola¬ 
tion  of  ancestral  house  law.  Yang  frequently  spent  the 
whole  night  in  Tzu  Hsi’s  company.  One  evening,  Tzu  An 
had  occasion  to  go  across  to  Tzu  Hsi’s  quarters,  in  con¬ 
nection  with  some  official  appointment  that  was  to  be 
decided  next  morning.  She  appeared  unannounced.  Tzii 
Hsi  was  out  in  the  grounds,  but  Yang  was  calmly  re¬ 
clining  on  the  Old  Buddha’s  44  phoenix  bed.”  Tzu  An 
saw  him  quite  plainly  and  beat  a  hasty  retreat,  after 
giving  to  the  maids  in  attendance  the  message  which 
she  desired  to  be  conveyed  to  Tzu  Hsi. 

4  Tzu  Hsi,  on  returning,  was  horrified  to  find  that  she 
was  found  out.  As  was  her  wont,  she  acted  promptly. 
She  ordered  Yang  to  arise,  and  handed  him  a  cup  of 
clotted  cream  flavoured  with  apricot,  saying :  44  The 
Empress  of  the  East  will  be  back  almost  immediately, 
so  you  had  best  be  off.  Here  is  a  beverage,  from  my  own 
table,  which  you  may  drink  in  my  presence.”  The 
flattered  minion  partook  of  the  delicacy  and  just  managed 
to  reach  his  home  before  dying  in  awful  agony.  The 
cup  had  contained  a  large  quantity  of  arsenic,  the  poison 
which  Tzu  Hsi  found  most  effective. 

487 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


‘  Tzu  Hsi  then  took  to  her  room  and  gave  out  that  she 
was  too  sick  to  attend  to  State  matters.  Tzu  An  had 
been  much  shocked  by  what  she  had  seen.  Had  she  been 
a  strong  woman,  she  could  easily  have  degraded  Tzu  Hsi 
by  issuing  a  decree  recounting  her  misdeeds ;  indeed, 
she  might  have  secured  her  death  for  so  gross  a  breach 
of  a  widow’s  duty  and  disrespect  to  Hsien  Feng’s  soul 
in  Heaven.  But  she  feared  Tzu  Hsi  too  much  to  venture 
on  such  a  step,  and  it  never  occurred  to  her  that  in  her 
own  self-defence  she  would  be  wise  to  take  action,  inas¬ 
much  as  Tzu  Hsi  was  not  likely  to  forget  or  forgive 
having  been  surprised  in  a  compromising  situation. 
Instead  of  denouncing  her,  she  sent  eunuchs  daily  to 
ask  after  the  malingerer’s  health  and  to  urge  her  to 
return  to  the  discharge  of  her  duties. 

‘  Now,  it  so  happened  that  at  this  time  a  memorial 
had  come  in  from  one  of  the  provinces,  recounting  the 
heroic  chastity  of  a  certain  young  widow,  who,  though 
starving,  had  died  rather  than  accept  the  advances  of  a 
wealthy  neighbour.  The  Governor  memorialised  the 
Empresses,  asking  for  the  honour  of  a  memorial  arch  to 
be  conferred  as  an  encouragement  to  “  faithful  women 
who  would  die  rather  than  lose  their  virtue.”  Tzu  An 
came  across  to  show  this  document  to  Tzu  Hsi,  and  to 
ask  her  decision.  Possibly  she  may  have  thought  to 
avert  suspicion  from  her  colleague’s  mind  by  talking 
frankly  about  the  woman’s  virtue,  which  would  lead 
Tzu  Hsi  to  think  that  her  colleague  knew  nothing  of  her 
recent  intrigue.  But  Tzu  Hsi’s  suspicions  were  not  to 
be  thus  lulled.  She  answered  Tzu  An  perfunctorily, 
her  own  mind  working  rapidly  all  the  time.  She  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  this  was  a  subtle  way  of  informing 
her  that  her  own  lack  of  feminine  virtue  had  been  dis¬ 
covered,  so  she  determined  to  delay  no  longer.  Tzu  An 
said  :  “  This  memorial  will  show  you  how  you  are  needed 
at  Court;  pray  come  back  at  once.”  Tzu  Hsi  answered  : 

488 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


“  The  woman  acted  well ;  let  her  have  her  arch,  as  an 
example  to  the  women  of  the  day.”  No  more  was  said, 
but  on  the  following  day  Tzu  Hsi  sent  her  favourite 
waiting-maid  to  Tzu  An  with  a  present  of  honey  cakes 
and  her  reverent  greeting.  Tzu  An  ate  of  them  and  died 
of  poison  within  a  few  hours.  When  Tso  Tsung-t’ang 
(who  had  only  lately  arrived  to  take  up  his  duties  on  the 
Grand  Council)  came  to  Court  next  day,  he  was  met  by 
the  announcement  that  Tzu  An  was  dead.  He  stamped 
angrily  up  and  down  the  Palace  courtyard,  exclaiming  : 
“  Why  was  no  announcement  made  of  her  illness,  and  why 
was  no  doctor  called  in  from  the  Imperial  Court  of 
Physicians  ?  It  seems  very  strange  also  that  no  decree 
was  issued  immediately  after  her  decease  occurred,  as 
custom  requires;  its  belated  issue  is  highly  suspicious.” 

‘  Tzu  Hsi,  who  was  in  the  main  hall  of  audience,  was 
speedily  informed  by  her  eunuchs  of  what  Tso  had  said. 
She  took  an  early  opportunity  of  relieving  him  of  his 
duties  on  the  Grand  Council  by  sending  him  to  Nanking 
as  Viceroy.  She  realised  that  he  suspected  her,  and  his 
death  soon  afterwards  came  as  an  immense  relief.  He  was 
too  powerful,  with  his  army  behind  him,  for  her  to  adopt 
her  usual  drastic  methods  in  his  case.  I  was  lucky 
myself  in  not  incurring  Tzu  Hsi’s  suspicions ;  indeed, 
she  has  always  treated  me  with  much  liberality.  I  am 
still  in  her  service,  although  my  present  duties  keep  me 
in  the  Forbidden  City.’ 

“  Thus  ended  the  eunuch’s  statement ;  a  few  moons 
later  Tzu  Hsi  herself  ‘  mounted  the  chariot  drawn  by 
fairies  and  went  forth  on  her  distant  journey.’  Doubtless 
she  still  has  her  imperious  way  in  the  Halls  of  the  Lower 
World,  and  compels  her  colleague  to  yield  precedence  to 
her  august  shade  !  ” 

Finally,  we  reproduce  an  extract  from  the  artlessly 
biased  writings  of  the  Chinese  essayist  who  signs  himself 

489 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


“  Born  out  of  Time.”  The  monotonous  regularity  with 
which  these  pamphleteers  credit  the  Old  Buddha  with 
selecting  her  lovers  from  the  lowest  classes,  suggests  a 
conspiracy  of  defamation,  very  characteristic  of  Oriental 
methods. 

This  writer  observes  :  “  During  the  lifetime  of  the  Old 
Buddha,  the  following  story  was  only  whispered  with 
bated  breath  in  the  precincts  of  the  Palace,  but  its 
truth  is  universally  acknowledged.  It  accounts  for  Her 
Majesty’s  illegal  nomination  of  Kuang  Hsii  to  the  Throne, 
far  better  than  the  commonly  accepted  official  version 
of  the  matter,  whereby  it  is  explained  that  Tzu  Hsi 
appointed  him  because  of  his  physical  disabilities,  so  that 
she  might  look  forward  to  a  prolonged  Regency. 

“  The  Old  Buddha  was  very  fond  of  poached  eggs 
cooked  in  chicken  gravy,  a  popular  dish  in  Peking 
restaurants,  where  it  is  commonly  called  ‘  tangwo  kuo  ’ 
(literally,  ‘  fruits  lying  in  gravy  ’).  During  her  first 
Regency  she  insisted  on  having  this  delicacy  brought  to 
her  every  morning  by  the  eunuch,  An  Te-hai,  and  after 
his  death  by  Li  Lien-ying.  They  bought  it  at  the 
Chinhua  (Gold  Blossom)  restaurant,  which  stands  outside 
the  West  gate  of  the  Imperial  city,  a  house  famous  for 
this  dish.  [En  passant ,  I  may  mention  that  the  Old 
Buddha  was  charged  twenty-four  taels  for  four  eggs 
served  in  this  way,  the  usual  price  being  about  twenty 
cents,  so  An  and  Li  must  have  made  handsome  profits.] 
After  An’s  unlucky  decease,  Li  made  friends  with  one  of 
the  waiters  at  the  restaurant,  a  handsome  youth  of  twenty, 
named  Shih,  who  had  a  remarkably  white  complexion. 
Li  allowed  this  youth  to  accompany  him  within  the  for¬ 
bidden  precincts,  and  even  into  Tzu  Hsi’s  Palace.  One 
day  the  Empress  observed  him,  was  struck  by  his  good 
looks,  and  asked  Li  who  he  was.  On  learning  his  name 
and  origin,  Tzu  Hsi  was  pleased  to  say  :  ‘  He  is  the  best¬ 
looking  lad  I’ve  seen  for  many  a  long  day.  He  shall 

490 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


have  a  post  in  the  Palace,  and  he  can  wait  upon  me  at 
table.’  The  result  was  that  Shih  was  always  at  her  side, 
and  the  intimacy,  much  to  Li’s  disgust,  resulted  in  Tzu 
Hsi  becoming  enceinte.  She  was  then  in  her  thirty-sixth 
year.  When  the  child  was  born,  it  was  obviously  im¬ 
possible  to  bring  him  up  in  the  Palace,  so  Tzu  Hsi  appealed 
to  her  favourite  sister,  Prince  Ch’un’s  wife,  to  help  her. 
The  infant  was  hurriedly  removed  to  the  West  city,  where 
Prince  Ch’un  lived.  Doubtless  the  Prince  was  also  in 
the  secret,  which  would  account  for  the  Old  Buddha’s 
marked  favour  towards  him.  Tzu  Hsi’s  next  step  was 
to  put  the  unlucky  Shih  to  death.  This  story  serves  also 
to  explain  Li  Lien-ying’s  undisguised  contempt  for 
Kuang  Hsu,  for  he  could  not  forget  his  humble  origin. 
When  T’ung  Chih  died,  Tzu  Hsi  defied  ancestral  tradition 
by  placing  this  child,  her  second  son,  upon  the  Throne, 
as  successor  to  his  half-brother.  One  can  realise  what 
a  bitter  blow  it  must  have  been  to  her  to  find  the  boy 
growing  up  hostile  and  disobedient  to  his  mother,  to 
whom  alone  he  owed  the  Throne.  No  doubt  Wu  Ko-tu  1 
was  in  the  secret  of  this  matter,  and  if  so,  his  historic 
protest  requires  to  be  read  in  a  sense  different  from  that 
which  has  hitherto  been  placed  upon  it.  He  would 
have  wished  to  save  the  house  of  Gioro  from  being 
tainted  by  illegitimacy  of  this  kind,  and  for  this  reason 
urged  that  the  appointment  of  Kuang  Hsii  should  be 
nullified  at  the  first  opportunity.  On  these  grounds, 
also,  the  Old  Buddha  may  have  justified  her  design  on  the 
Emperor’s  life  in  1900;  she  may  have  argued  that  she 
had  a  perfect  right  to  dispose  of  her  own  son  as  she  chose.” 

The  frame  of  mind  in  which  “  Born  out  of  Time  ” 
records  these  things  is  fittingly  illustrated  by  his  con¬ 
cluding  observations  :  “If  the  purpose  of  the  revolution 

1  The  famous  Censor  who  committed  suicide  at  the  grave  of  T’ung 
Chih  to  protest  against  the  illegality  of  the  succession  of  Kuang  Hsu 
(vide  China  under  the  Empress  Dowager,  p.  132). 

491 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


was  to  eradicate  the  Manchu  dominion,”  he  says,  “  it 
may  appear  to  some  to  have  been  unnecessary,  for  that 
purpose  had  been  to  all  intents  effected  by  the  Chinese 
paramour  of  the  concubine  of  Yung  Cheng,  by  Yehonala, 
and  others.” 

It  is  interesting  to  compare  the  estimate  of  Tzu  Hsi’s 
character  as  presented  by  Young  China,  with  that  in 
which  she  was  held  by  men  like  Tseng-Kuo-fan,  Liu 
K’un-yi,  and  many  other  great  officers  of  State,  and  to 
wonder  which  of  these  verdicts  will  be  finally  accepted 
in  the  histories  written  for  the  learning  of  the  sons  of 
Han  in  ages  to  come.  It  is  certain  that,  making  due 
allowance  for  bias  of  class,  the  opinion  of  the  orthodox 
and  sober-minded  literati  is  the  more  sincere  and  nearer 
to  the  truth,  and  that  it  represents  the  instinctive  judg¬ 
ment  of  the  mass  of  Tzu  Hsi’s  contemporaries.  But  the 
text-books  for  the  use  of  young  China’s  schools  are  not  likely 
to  take  their  picture  of  the  Old  Buddha  from  the  annals 
of  the  orthodox.  History,  as  Froude  has  said,  presents 
no  subject  matter  for  science  :  had  he  examined  some 
of  the  material  from  which  Chinese  history  is  usually 
compiled,  he  might  have  expressed  the  same  idea  in 
more  forcible  terms. 


492 


CHAPTER  XXI 


THE  COURT  UNDER  THE  LAST  REGENCY 

After  the  death  of  the  Emperor  Kuang  Hsii  on  the 
14th  November,  1908,  followed  next  day  by  that  of  the 
Empress  Dowager  Tzu  Hsi,  the  Throne  passed  once  more 
to  a  child  of  tender  years,  the  Emperor  Hsiian  T’ung. 
The  objections  to  the  succession  were  many  and  valid, 
and  the  risks  of  a  Regency  obvious,  but  Tzu  Hsi,  always 
a  law  unto  herself,  overrode  all  opposition.  Her  motives 
in  selecting  this  infant  son  of  Prince  Ch’un  (brother  of 
the  late  Emperor)  were  mixed,  and  her  dying  words 
showed  that  she  herself  was  by  no  means  blind  to  the 
dangers  to  which  her  autocratic  decision  would  expose 
the  State.  One  of  the  factors  which  chiefly  influenced 
her  choice,  was  a  desire  to  perpetuate  the  influence  of  the 
Yehonala  Clan  in  the  person  of  her  niece  (Kuang  Hsii’s 
widow),  the  Empress  Lung  Yu;  another,  as  she  herself 
declared,  lay  in  the  promise  which  she  had  made  to  Jung 
Lu,  at  the  time  when  she  betrothed  his  daughter  to  Prince 
Ch’un,  that  the  eldest  son  of  this  marriage  should  become 
Heir  to  the  Throne,  in  recognition  of  Jung  Lu’s  lifelong 
service  to  the  dynasty  and  to  herself. 

But  whatever  her  motives,  the  immediate  result  of 
her  action  was  to  create  a  condition  of  affairs  in  the  Palace 
similar  to  that  which  had  served  her  so  well  during  the 
minority  of  the  Emperor  T’ung  Chih,  and  again  during 
that  of  Kuang  Hsii.  It  is  to  be  remembered  that  when 
she  issued  her  Decree  of  the  14th  November,  appointing 
Prince  Ch’un  Regent  and  his  infant  son  Emperor,  she 

493 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


had  every  intention  of  living;  and  had  she  not  died,  it 
is  perfectly  certain  that  the  Regent  would  have  enjoyed 
no  greater  authority  than  she  had  allowed  to  his  un¬ 
fortunate  brother  Kuang  Hsii.  It  was  only  on  the 
following  day,  and  at  the  very  point  of  death,  that  she 
issued  a  decree  conferring  upon  him  the  whole  govern¬ 
ment  of  the  Empire ;  and  it  will  be  remembered  that,  even 
then,  she  took  from  him  the  substance  of  authority, 
leaving  only  the  shadow,  by  the  concluding  sentence 
of  that  decree,  which  ordered  that  “  in  any  question  of 
vital  importance,  in  regard  to  which  an  expression  of 
the  Empress  Dowager’s  opinion  is  desirable,  the  Regent 
shall  apply  to  her  in  person  for  instructions,  and  act 
accordingly.”  1 

The  ill-starred  Regent  found  himself,  from  the  outset, 
sore  let  and  hindered  in  the  administration  of  the  Goodly 
Heritage.  Tzii  Hsi’s  last  act,  indeed,  was  fiendishly 
ingenious,  if  her  object  was  to  create  divided  counsels 
and  to  perpetuate  the  old  Yehonala  Clan  feud  in  the 
Palace.  The  Regent’s  position  was  effectively  under¬ 
mined  by  that  last  clause  of  the  decree,  which  placed  at 
the  disposal  of  the  new  Empress  Dowager  and  the 
Yehonala  Clan  powers  of  supervision  and  interference 
sufficient  to  thwart  him  at  every  turn.  The  Regent  and 
his  party  were  checkmated  from  the  first  move  :  the  real 
powers  behind  the  Throne  must  always  be  his  sister-in- 
law,  the  Empress  Lung  Yu,  and  his  wife,  the  strong- 
minded  daughter  of  Jung  Lu.  Tzu  ILsi  with  her  last 
breath  advised  her  high  officers  of  State  “  never  again  to 
allow  any  woman  to  hold  the  supreme  power,”  but  her 
valedictory  orders  made  petticoat  government  a  fore¬ 
gone  conclusion,  complicated  by  the  further  certainty  of 
a  struggle  for  power  between  these  two  masterful  women. 

Had  the  Regent  been  a  man  of  strong  purpose  and  re¬ 
source,  he  might  have  won  through  to  supreme  authority 
1  Vide  China  under  the  Empress  Dozvager,  p.  465. 

494 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


by  a  skilful  policy  of  Divide  el  Impera  ;  but  he  showed 
neither  initiative,  courage  nor  intelligence,  and  frequently 
played  into  the  hands  of  Lung  Yii  by  the  perpetration 
of  blunders  which,  in  the  eyes  of  the  Court,  made  her 
interference  in  State  affairs  wholly  justifiable  and  in¬ 
evitable.  History  seemed,  indeed,  to  be  in  a  fair  way  to 
repeat  itself  with  extraordinary  fidelity.  Had  it  not  been 
for  the  deb&cle  of  the  revolution,  whereby  the  Regent, 
the  Yehonala  Clan,  and  all  the  loves  and  hates  of  the 
Manchus  were  swept  into  the  limbo  of  things  out-worn, 
it  is  quite  safe  to  say  that  the  position  between  the 
Empress  Dowager,  the  young  Emperor’s  mother  and  the 
Regent  would  have  reproduced  nearly  all  the  essential 
features  which  existed  during  the  joint  Regency  of  Tzu 
Hsi  and  Tzu  An,  Empresses  of  the  Eastern  and  Western 
Palaces,  after  the  death  of  Hsien  Feng,  at  the  time  when 
Prince  Kung  was  “  Adviser  to  the  Government  ” ;  and 
it  is  equally  safe  to  say  that  Lung  Yii,  faithfully  following 
in  the  footsteps  of  Tzu  Hsi,  would  before  long  have 
deprived  Prince  Ch’un  of  the  Regency  and  relegated  his 
wife,  the  Emperor’s  mother,  to  an  innocuous  background. 

Lung  Yii,  whose  death  occurred  “  in  the  profound 
seclusion  of  the  Summer  Palace,”  on  the  22nd  of  February, 
1913,  was  openly  estranged  from  her  lord  for  many  years 
before  his  death.  When  Tzu  Hsi  selected  her  for  the 
position  of  Imperial  Consort,  in  1889,  it  was  more  with 
a  view  to  strengthening  the  hands  of  the  Yehonala  Clan  1 
through  her  influence,  than  to  increase  the  felicity  of 
His  Majesty  Kuang  Hsii;  and  as  both  parties  were  aware 
of  the  fact,  it  would  have  been  strange  had  their  relations 
been  cordial.  Kuang  Hsii’s  senior  Consort  certainly 
never  pretended  to  love,  honour  and  obey  him ;  never¬ 
theless,  she  resented  his  devotion  to  the  “  Pearl  Concu¬ 
bine,”  and  frequently  quarrelled  with  her  husband.  In 
appearance  Her  Majesty  was  unattractive,  and  her 
1  She  was  the  daughter  of  Kuei  Hsiang,  brother  of  Tzu  Hsi. 

495 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


disposition  anything  but  genial;  but  she  possessed  the 
shrewd  mother-wit  and  genius  for  intrigue  which  had 
distinguished  her  august  aunt. 

After  Tzu  Hsi’s  death,  Lung  Yu,  now  Empress  Dowager, 
lost  no  time  in  asserting  her  authority,  with  the  result 
that  the  inmates  of  the  Palace  and  the  officials  of  the 
metropolis  speedily  ranged  themselves  into  opposing 
camps,  the  adherents  of  the  Empress  and  her  Clan  against 
the  Regent  and  his  party.  A  further  element  of  dis¬ 
ruption  arose  in  the  strife  which  divided  the  eunuchs  of 
the  Palace  into  two  fiercely  hostile  parties,  the  followers 
of  Tzu  Hsi’s  aged  major  domo,  Li  Lien-ying,  fighting 
for  perquisites  and  power  against  the  partisans  of  Lung 
Yii’s  favourite,  the  arrogant  young  eunuch,  Chang  Yuan- 
fu.  Here  again  history  repeated  itself  with  almost 
monotonous  observance  of  dynastic  tradition,  and  with 
the  usual  deplorable  results. 

Lung  Yii  made  Tzu  Hsi  her  model  in  all  things.  Those 
who  had  hoped  that  the  new  regime  would  set  itself  to 
abolish  the  crying  evils  of  the  eunuch  system  and,  by 
cleansing  the  Augean  stables  of  the  Palace,  give  an 
earnest  of  its  desire  to  effect  reforms  in  other  directions, 
were  speedily  disillusioned.  The  new  Empress  Dowager, 
like  her  august  predecessor,  was  profuse  with  good 
intentions,  but  in  practice  she  followed  the  example  of 
the  Old  Buddha’s  extravagant  and  licentious  youth, 
so  that  her  Court  rapidly  became  a  hotbed  of  scandals 
and  abuses.  Upon  the  plea  of  reorganising  the  Imperial 
Household  on  a  basis  of  careful  economy  and  good  order 
she  did,  indeed,  reduce  the  eunuch  staff  and  dismiss  many 
of  the  Palace  women,  but  the  individuals  dismissed  were 
invariably  supporters  of  the  Regent’s  faction.  She  dis¬ 
played  a  keen  interest  in  the  affairs  of  government, 
metropolitan  and  provincial,  but  her  interest  arose 
unmistakably  from  the  connection  of  these  affairs  with 
the  replenishing  of  her  own  Privy  Purse. 

496 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


One  day,  in  the  autumn  of  1909,  Lung  Yii  was  taking 
the  air  with  her  favourite  handmaidens  and  eunuchs 
on  the  Lake  near  the  Winter  Palace.  The  conversation 
turned  on  certain  criticisms  which  had  recently  been 
directed  against  Her  Majesty  by  some  of  the  Censors 
and  even  in  the  Press.  “  I  care  nothing  for  such 
criticisms,”  said  Lung  Yu.  “  Her  late  sainted  Majesty 
suffered  greatly  from  the  irresponsible  wagging  of  evil 
tongues.  I  am  firmly  resolved  to  make  her  my  guide 
and  pattern  in  all  things.  She  knew  well  how  to  blend 
severity  with  kindness,  and  she  knew  also  that  public 
opinion  is  like  a  stream  which  requires  damming  at  its 
source.” 

Her  attendants  were  delighted  at  this  outburst,  taking 
it  to  mean  that  Her  Majesty  looked  forward  to  asserting 
herself  after  the  manner  of  Tzu  Hsi,  when  the  time 
should  be  ripe.  All  the  eunuchs  kotowed,  and  “  Little  ” 
Chang  Yiian-fu  expressed  their  sentiments,  saying  : 
“  Your  Majesty’s  resolve  will  bring  happiness  to  the 
Empire  and  to  your  unworthy  servants  as  well.”  Lung 
Yii  beamed  graciously,  and  the  entertainment  proceeded 
amidst  general  satisfaction. 

Following  the  example  of  her  illustrious  model,  Lung 
Yii  took  early  steps  to  secure  control  of  the  education 
of  the  young  Emperor,  and  was  particularly  careful  to 
select,  for  attendance  on  the  child,  eunuchs  who  should 
alienate  his  affection  from  the  Regent  and  train  him  to 
recognise  her  own  paramount  authority.  At  the  same 
time  she  complied  faithfully  with  the  traditions  of  ortho¬ 
doxy  and  Court  etiquette  in  the  following  decree  (10th 
July,  1911),  which  for  platitudinous  insincerity  is  on 
a  level  with  Tzu  Hsi’s  most  classical  effusions.  It  was 
issued,  under  her  orders,  by  the  Regent. 

“  The  personal  commands  of  Her  Majesty  the  Empress 
Dowager,  Lung  Yii,  to  the  Regent  are  as  follows  : 

“  His  Majesty,  the  Emperor,  succeeded  in  tender 
kk  497 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


infancy  to  the  goodly  heritage  and  glorious  patrimony 
of  the  Throne.  He  has  now  reached  an  age  when  wise 
training  becomes  needful,  and  it  behoves  him  to  enter 
upon  his  education  in  due  time,  so  that  he  shall 
accomplish  notable  results  and  build  up  a  solid  foundation 
for  his  rule. 

“  I  command,  therefore,  that  the  Court  of  Astronomers 
shall  select  an  auspicious  day  in  the  7th  Moon,  for  the 
Emperor  to  begin  his  studies  in  the  Yu  Ching  Palace. 
I  hereby  appoint  the  Grand  Secretary  Lu  Jun-tsiang, 
and  the  Vice-President  Ch’en  Pao-chen,  as  preceptors  to 
His  Majesty.  They  shall  bestow  instruction  upon  him 
early  and  late,  and  shall  display  their  utmost  diligence 
in  sowing  the  fertile  seed  in  his  mind.  It  is  incumbent 
upon  them  to  impart  in  fullest  detail  the  causes  from  which 
proceed  good  government  or  anarchy  in  ancient  and 
modem  times  in  every  country  of  the  world,  since  this 
is  essential  to  a  sovereign’s  training,  and  they  are  to  point 
the  moral  as  circumstances  may  require.  At  the  present 
time,  when  intercourse  between  all  parts  of  the  world 
is  widely  developed,  and  civilisation  is  ever  advancing, 
it  behoves  them,  above  all,  to  inculcate  a  clear  impression 
of  the  progress  of  constitutional  government  during  its 
first  few  decades,  and  of  the  development  of  sound 
learning,  especial  stress  being  laid  on  the  needs  of  the 
day.  The  highest  examples  must  be  selected  and  scrupu¬ 
lous  attention  given  to  detail,  it  being  understood  that 
the  cardinal  principle  of  Confucius  shall  be  faithfully 
instilled,  whereby  the  attainment  of  knowledge  produces 
sincerity  and  righteousness,  and  the  cultivation  of  the 
moral  nature  leads  to  a  state  of  ideal  government.  Thus 
shall  a  daily  increase  of  virtue  be  imparted  to  his  mind, 
and  thereby  a  good  foundation  be  laid  for  perfect 
governance. 

“  The  Regent  is  to  exercise  a  general  superintendence 
over  the  Emperor’s  curriculum  and  the  procedure  in  the 

498 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


Yu-ching  Palace.  The  Manchu  language,  spoken  and 
written,  being  inseparable  from  our  Dynasty,  I  hereby 
appoint  I-k’o-t’an,  Deputy-Lieutenant-General-designate 
of  a  Banner,  to  bestow  such  instruction  therein  as  may 
be  requisite;  of  this  also  the  Regent  is  to  exercise  a 
general  control.  The  words  of  the  Empress.” 

A  few  weeks  later  we  find  Her  Majesty  taking  steps 
to  prevent  the  “  illicit  diversion  of  funds  ”  from  her 
Privy  Purse.  Her  decree  on  this  subject,  preaching  the 
gospel  of  “  circumspect  parsimony,”  bears  an  unmistak¬ 
able  family  likeness  to  those  which  Tzu  Hsi  was  wont 
to  issue  in  the  heyday  of  her  tumultuous  and  spend¬ 
thrift  youth.  The  reference  to  building  operations  is 
particularly  barefaced,  inasmuch  as  Her  Majesty  was  at 
the  moment  conniving,  as  will  be  shown,  at  enormous 
peculations  by  her  Chief  eunuch  under  this  very  heading. 
It  reads  as  follows  : 

“  The  Ministry  of  Finance  has  impeached  the  Comp¬ 
troller  and  staff  of  the  Imperial  Household  for  recording 
false  and  excessive  accounts  of  expenditure  incurred,  and 
for  conniving  at  illicit  diversion  of  funds  in  connection 
with  the  Imperial  Silk  Factory  at  Hang-chou.  Such 
conduct  is  grossly  improper,  and  I  hereby  command  that 
the  officials  concerned  be  referred  to  the  Cabinet  for 
determination  of  a  penalty  proportionate  to  the  respective 
offenders’  rank  and  position. 

“  In  addition,  I  hereby  convey  my  severe  rebuke  to 
the  Comptrollers  of  the  Imperial  Household  for  their 
gross  lack  of  vigilance  in  the  performance  of  their  duties. 
Hereafter  they  are  to  examine  all  accounts  of  expenditure 
and  of  building  operations  with  the  most  rigid  and 
particular  scrutiny,  so  as  to  conform  with  the  earnest 
desire  which  animates  me,  in  the  profound  seclusion  of 
my  Palace,  to  maintain  in  all  things  a  circumspect 
parsimony.  The  words  of  the  Empress.” 

This  ingenuous  declaration  of  high  principle  was  made 

499 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


in  August  1911.  Four  months  earlier,  a  certain  Manchu 
Censor,  named  Ch’ing  Fu,  had  expressed  the  sentiments 
of  all  who  cared  for  the  dignity  of  the  Court,  in  an  ex¬ 
tremely  outspoken  memorial,  which  laid  particular  stress 
on  the  notorious  malpractices  of  the  eunuch  Chang 
Yiian-fu  in  connection  with  the  contracts  for  building 
works  and  repairs  at  the  Palace.  Abuses  of  this  kind, 
exposing  the  incorrigible  corruption  of  the  Manchu 
regime,  provided  the  revolutionary  party  in  the  South 
with  arguments  of  a  kind  that  appealed,  far  more  than 
political  ideals,  to  the  man  in  the  street. 

In  this  memorial  the  Censor  said  :  “  Whenever  money 
is  needed  in  the  Palace,  this  eunuch  Chang  Yiian-fu  actually 
dares  to  make  direct  requisitions  on  the  Board  of  Finance 
and  the  Imperial  Treasury,  out  of  which  he  helps  him¬ 
self  freely.  Quite  recently  he  made  an  arrangement  with 
three  Manchus  connected  with  the  Works  department 
of  the  Household  for  the  rebuilding  of  the  two  Throne 
halls,  the  Hall  of  the  Correct  Mean  and  the  Hall  of  the 
Empyrean,  and  another  for  the  supply  of  musical  instru¬ 
ments  used  in  the  Palace  for  sacrificial  rites.  The  actual 
amount  requisitioned  was  490,000  taels  in  silver  and 
30,000  taels  in  gold  (say,  £180,000).  For  repairs  of  the 
main  hall  of  audience  at  the  Palace  of  Heavenly  Purity, 
he  has  received  570,000  taels,  while  for  re-painting  some 
of  the  Forbidden  City’s  inner  enclosures,  no  less  a  sum 
than  260,000  taels  has  been  charged  in  the  account. 
For  repairs  to  the  Palace  drains,  the  sum  of  7,000  taels 
was  actually  expended,  but  this  eunuch  has  drawn 
80,000  taels  from  the  Board  of  Finance  on  this  account. 
For  repairing  the  courts  of  the  Palace,  the  Board  of 
Revenue  has  paid  over  to  him  1,200,000  taels.  Not 
satisfied  with  these  peculations,  out  of  which  he  must 
have  made  at  least  2,000,000  taels,  he  proceeded  to 
rebuild  the  Palace  of  Perpetual  Spring  (which  was  in 
excellent  repair).  For  this  work  the  contract  called  for 

500 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


about  1,000,000  taels,  but  on  the  26th  of  the  8th  Moon 
of  last  year  (September  1910),  the  Imperial  Household 
memorialised  the  Throne  that  the  Board  of  Finance 
should  be  ordered  to  pay  over  half  as  much  again  under 
this  heading.  To  this  memorial  the  Empress  Dowager 
appended  the  rescript  ‘  Noted.’ 

“  Now  the  fact  is,  that  on  this  contract  no  more  than 
300,000  taels  were  expended,  so  that  the  greater  part  of 
the  balance  of  1,200,000  taels  has  found  its  way  into 
Chang’s  pocket. 

“  Worse  than  all  this,  Chang  has  purloined  many 
valuable  pearls  and  precious  stones  from  the  Palace,  the 
value  of  which  amounts  to  millions  of  taels.  He  and  two 
tradesmen  named  Li  Lo-t’ing  and  Liu  Pu-ch’ing  have 
also  opened  numerous  pawnshops  and  building  yards. 
At  a  crisis  like  the  present,  when  funds  are  so  urgently 
needed  for  Army  reform,  and  when  the  provincial  budgets 
all  show  huge  deficits,  it  is  passing  strange  that  this  all- 
powerful  eunuch  should  be  allowed  to  manipulate  these 
large  amounts  at  his  own  sweet  will.  I  would  humbly 
ask  Your  Majesty  the  Empress  Dowager  to  issue  a 
decree  ordering  the  confiscation  of  all  his  ill-gotten  gains, 
and  the  arrest  and  condign  punishment  of  this  baneful 
and  iniquitous  eunuch,  in  order  that  the  National  Treasury 
may  receive  an  accession  of  much-needed  funds.” 

This  memorial  was  suppressed,  and  Her  Majesty  ad¬ 
ministered  a  severe  rebuke  to  the  Censor.  The  eunuch’s 
power  and  insolence  were  greatly  increased  by  the 
incident ;  he  waxed  fat  and  began  to  kick  even  the  highest. 
Soon  there  were  none  at  Court  who  dared  oppose  him, 
and  even  the  Regent  quailed  before  him.  He  became 
Lung  Yii’s  inseparable  and  intimate  companion,  following 
her  wherever  she  went.  Shortly  after  his  impeachment 
he  made  another  large  haul  out  of  theatrical  performances 
in  the  Palace.  By  his  influence  the  compilation  of  the 
proposed  Civil  lust  was  effectually  blocked.  Soon  his 

501 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


fame  spread,  as  that  of  Li  Lien-ying  had  done  before 
him,  to  every  quarter  of  the  city ;  his  little  finger  became 
thicker  than  the  loins  of  his  predecessor,  so  that  in  two 
years  all  men  spoke  of  him  with  hatred  and  fear.  In  that 
time  he  amassed  a  fortune  of  about  £1,000,000  out  of 
Palace  squeezes  alone,  and  this  is  without  reckoning 
bribes  and  “  grants-in-aid  ”  from  officials. 

Li  Lien-ying  weakened  visibly  after  the  death  of  his 
mistress  and  protector ;  his  proud  spirit  was  broken 
and  his  stomach  for  fighting  permanently  deranged. 
He  died  on  the  4th  of  March,  1911,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
nine,  after  two  years  of  chronic  dysentery.  On  the 
day  of  his  death  some  of  his  most  valuable  pearls  were 
stolen  from  his  apartments  by  eunuchs  of  the  Chang 
faction  :  they  were  subsequently  claimed  by  a  eunuch 
named  Li  Yi-ch’un  on  the  plea  that  he  was  Li  Lien-ying’s 
foster  son.  Chang  subsequently  intrigued  against  him 
and  secured  his  banishment  for  life,  and  the  pearls  are 
now  in  Chang’s  safe  keeping,  or  were  until  the  abdication 
of  the  dynasty. 

The  extraordinary  influence  which  this  man  rapidly 
established  over  the  Empress  Lung  Yu,  his  unbounded 
presumption  and  haughty  bearing,  naturally  led  in  his 
case  to  rumours  similar  to  those  which  were  widely  circu¬ 
lated  about  the  favourite  companion  of  Tzu  Hsi’s  halcyon 
days,  the  “  false  eunuch  ”  An  Te-hai.  His  antecedents 
were  peculiar,  for  it  was  not  till  his  eighteenth  year  that 
he  “  left  the  family  ”  (to  use  the  Chinese  euphemism) 
and  became  a  eunuch.  Previous  to  that  he  had  been 
married,  and  was  the  father  of  two  children.  When  he 
came  from  Ho  Chien-fu  to  Peking,  in  1899,  seeking 
employment  in  the  Palace,  he  was  quite  without  influence 
or  friends,  but  was  able  to  persuade  one  of  his  fellow- 
townsmen,  a  head  eunuch,  to  employ  him  in  a  menial 
capacity.  Being  of  extremely  handsome  appearance,  a 
good  musician  and  a  first-class  actor,  he  soon  made  his 

502 


Peking,  January  7,  1902. 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


way  to  the  front,  and  was  eventually  employed  to  wait 
at  table  upon  Lung  Yu,  whom  he  accompanied  to  Hsi-an 
in  1900. 

His  way  of  living  lent  colour  to  the  rumours  which 
reflected  on  the  virtue  of  his  Imperial  mistress,  for  in 
1911  he  kept  up  the  establishment  of  a  family  man. 
Three  of  his  chief  clients  in  the  building  contract  and 
stolen- jewellery  businesses  (of  whom  one  was  the  shop¬ 
keeper  Li  Lo-t’ing,  mentioned  in  the  Censor’s  memorial 
above  quoted)  presented  him  during  that  year  with  three 
maidens  of  respectable  parentage,  whom  they  purchased 
in  Tientsin  for  the  purpose.  No  great  importance  need 
be  attached  to  these  facts,  however,  nor  to  the  rumours 
thereby  created,  for  such  domestic  arrangements  are  by 
no  means  unusual  with  the  wealthier  eunuchs  at  Peking, 
and  may  be  regarded  as  “  face-making  ”  expedients. 

Of  the  enormous  power  and  wealth  which  this  individual 
gathered  into  his  supple  hands  during  the  brief  course  of 
the  Regency,  there  is  no  doubt.  Towards  the  end  he 
was,  in  fact,  the  Government  of  China.  The  semi-regal 
dignities  which  he  assumed,  his  insolent  attitude  towards 
the  highest  Manchu  and  Chinese  officials,  had  become 
a  public  scandal  greater  than  anything  Peking  had  known 
since  the  days  of  Ho  Shen.  As  his  career  fittingly  adorns 
the  tale  and  points  the  moral  of  the  Manchus’  decline 
and  fall,  we  make  no  apology  for  describing  the  most 
notorious  of  his  achievements  and  habits. 

Before  the  Court  mourning  was  over,  with  Lung  Yii’s 
knowledge  and  consent,  he  organised  sumptuous  theatrical 
entertainments  at  the  Palace,  a  gross  breach  of  piety 
and  decorum.  In  the  course  of  these  entertainments  an 
incident  occurred  which  showed  that  the  new  Empress 
Dowager  had  studied  her  illustrious  prototype  to  good 
effect,  in  that  she  regarded  herself  and  her  affairs  as  above 
the  law.  At  this  time  the  leaders  of  the  Opium  Abolition 
movement  were  displaying  great  activity  in  Peking  and 

503 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


Tientsin,  and  the  Government  was  affording  them  moral, 
if  not  material,  support  in  the  form  of  decrees,  regulations 
and  Bureaus.  In  theory  there  were  no  opium  smokers 
left,  either  in  the  Palace  or  in  any  public  office.  Now, 
the  most  famous  actor  and  singer  of  North  China  was 
a  man  named  T’an,  nicknamed  “  The  Heaven-compelling 
Singer  ” ;  he  was  then  sixty  years  of  age,  but  still  in  full 
vigour  and  a  confirmed  opium  smoker.  Lung  Yu  had 
sent  for  him  to  give  a  command  performance,  but  the 
summons,  though  thrice  repeated,  was  ignored.  The 
Ministers  of  the  Household  sent  for  him,  intending  to 
punish  him  for  his  contumacy,  but  T’an  said  to  them  : 
“  I  need  an  ounce  of  opium  every  day,  as  the  craving  is 
very  strong,  and  without  it  I  cannot  sing  a  note.  Now 
that  officials  have  been  forbidden  to  touch  opium,  how 
should  an  actor  dare  to  break  the  law  and  smoke  in  the 
Palace?  ”  The  Ministers  proceeded  to  consult  Lung  Yii, 
who  said  :  “  Let  him  have  his  opium  in  peace.”  She 
even  signed  a  special  decree,  saying  :  “  The  actor  T’an 
is  permitted  to  enter  the  Palace  and  to  smoke  opium 
during  the  intervals  between  the  acts.” 

Lung  Yii  also  imitated  the  Old  Buddha  in  displaying  the 
keenest  interest  in  everything  connected  with  her  theatrical 
entertainments,  and  in  her  criticism  of  the  performers. 
This  criticism  sometimes  expressed  itself  in  a  manner 
which  Europe  has  outgrown.  On  one  occasion,  for 
instance,  the  well-known  actor  Yang  Hsiao-lou  was 
performing  an  emotional  piece,  “  The  Long  Mountain 
Slope,”  before  Lung  Yii  and  the  Court.  Her  Majesty 
took  umbrage  at  his  lack  of  expression  in  delivering  his 
lines  and  “  at  his  failure  to  exert  his  best  energies  in  her 
presence.”  She  commanded  the  Chief  eunuch  (Chang) 
to  have  the  actor  chastised  with  forty  strokes  of  the  whip, 
after  which  he  was  to  be  expelled  from  the  Palace  pre¬ 
cincts  and  permanently  struck  off  the  list  of  Palace  actors. 
It  is  true  that  there  were  many  at  Court  who  declared 

504 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


that  his  disgrace  had  nothing  to  do  with  his  acting,  but 
was  due  to  his  having  failed  to  placate  Chang  with  the 
usual  “  squeezes,”  in  addition  to  which,  he  was  a  protege 
of  the  late  Li  Lien-ying. 

By  dynastic  houselaw,  all  building  operations  in  the 
Forbidden  City  are  supposed  to  be  suspended  during  the 
period  of  mourning;  yet  Chang  persuaded  the  Empress 
to  sanction  the  expenditure  of  vast  sums  upon  a  large 
building  in  foreign  style — the  Yen  Hsi  Kung,  or  Palace 
of  Continual  Prosperity.  For  the  construction  of  this 
inappropriate  edifice,  no  official  supervisors  were  ap¬ 
pointed,  as  precedent  required.  The  estimates  were 
all  drawn  up  by  Chang  and  carried  out  under  his  own 
supervision  by  the  Yung  Te  (“  Everlasting  Virtue  ”) 
firm  of  contractors.  The  same  firm  was  simultaneously 
engaged  in  the  complete  reconstruction  of  Chang’s  private 
residence,  in  the  lane  of  the  Temple  of  Supreme  Felicity. 
The  result  was  a  Palace,  fitted  with  camphor  wood 
furniture  and  lacquer  screens.  The  style  of  architecture 
(except  that  the  roofs  are  not  yellow)  is  identical  with 
that  used  in  the  Ning  Shou-kung,  which  in  itself  constitutes 
an  act  of  lese  majeste.1  His  mansion  was  equipped 
throughout  with  electric  light  fittings  taken  from  the 
Palace  of  Ceremonial  Phoenixes,  where  Her  Majesty 
Tzu  Hsi  died.  Many  curios  were  also  taken  from  the 
same  place,  including  the  golden  image  of  the  Goddess 
of  Mercy,  four  feet  high,  which  was  presented  to  the  Old 
Buddha  at  Hsi-an.  His  garden  also  contained  a  famous 
jade  fish-bowl,  taken  from  the  private  Imperial  garden 
in  the  North  of  the  Forbidden  City.  The  rockery  was 
made  as  an  exact  replica  of  the  one  in  the  Palace,  and  six 
ornamental  kiosques,  of  the  Imperial  design,  were  erected 
in  the  grounds. 

His  residence  was  connected  by  a  private  telephone 
with  Lung  Yu’s  apartments  in  the  Palace  of  Perpetual 

1  Vide,  the  impeachment  of  Ho  Shen,  supra,  p.  353. 

505 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


Spring,  which  also  constitutes  Use  majeste.  His  tables 
were  covered  with  bronzes  and  sacrificial  vessels  removed 
from  the  Palace ;  many  of  them,  no  doubt,  presents 
from  the  Empress  to  her  favourite. 

He  gave  orders  for  the  demolition  of  the  Imperial 
studio,  known  as  the  “  Studio  of  Long-Lived  Upright¬ 
ness,”  and  directed  that  all  its  fittings  of  camphor  and 
black  wood  were  to  be  deposited  with  the  Yung  Tc 
contractors,  to  be  used  in  decorating  a  new  wing  of  his 
own  residence. 

As  his  hold  over  Lung  Yu  increased,  so  did  he  wax  in 
insolence  towards  the  Regent,  who,  towards  the  end  of 
1911,  was  obviously  afraid  of  him.  On  one  occasion, 
when  the  Regent  had  ventured  to  remonstrate  with  him 
for  removing  Palace  valuables,  the  eunuch  produced 
Lung  Yii’s  golden  tablet  and  said  :  “  Here  is  my 

authority.”  The  Regent  glared  angrily  and  began  to 
fume,  whereupon  Chang  haughtily  remarked  :  “  Palace 
matters  are  not  your  business.  When  the  Empress  and 
I  require  your  advice  we  will  ask  for  it.  Meanwhile, 
your  apartments  and  your  duties  lie  at  the  San  So  ”  (the 
Three  Departments  set  aside  for  the  Regent  to  the  East 
of  the  Palace)  :  “  what  business  brings  you  here  ?  ” 

In  like  manner,  when  Li  Chia-chu  was  appointed  Vice- 
Chancellor  of  the  Senate,  he  put  in  a  memorial  denouncing 
the  entire  eunuch  system  as  unworthy  of  a  State  with 
any  pretentions  to  civilisation.  Li  had  only  recently 
returned  from  investigating  the  constitutional  system  of 
Japan.  He  himself  felt  no  divine  despair  in  this  matter, 
but  since  he  was  obliged  to  put  in  a  report  of  some  sort, 
and  to  discuss  changes  desirable  in  the  interests  of  the 
State,  it  would  have  been  absurd  not  to  attack  the 
eunuch  system,  as  to  the  evils  of  which  all  Chinese  rulers, 
statesmen  and  moralists,  have  agreed  for  centuries.  But 
Chang  Yuan-fu  was,  none  the  less,  exceeding  wrath, 
and  made  no  secret  of  his  anger.  One  day,  in  April  1911, 

506 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


Li,  having  been  summoned  to  audience,  was  sitting  in 
the  ante-chamber,  awaiting  his  turn  to  be  called  to  the 
Presence.  Suddenly  the  Chief  Eunuch,  resplendent  in 
sumptuous  apparel,  came  in,  and  seating  himself,  without 
preliminary  ceremonies,  in  the  place  of  honour,  addressed 
Li,  de  haut  en  has  : 

“  We  read  your  memorial  advocating  our  dismissal,” 
he  said,  “  at  which  both  Her  Majesty  and  I  are  much 
displeased.  What  is  it  fills  your  head  with  these  ideas, 
utterly  opposed  to  all  dynastic  tradition  ?  ”  Li,  much 
embarrassed,  replied  :  “  Not  at  all  :  you  misunderstand 
my  meaning.  I  would  not  have  any  of  you  gentlemen 
lose  your  posts.  All  I  have  ventured  to  advise  is  that 
henceforward  no  more  eunuchs  should  be  engaged,  so 
that  the  system  might  gradually  die  a  natural  death. 
You  see,  no  other  civilised  State  employs  eunuchs,  and 
China  must  come  into  line  with  the  rest  of  the  world  in 
this  matter.  I  hope  that  you  may  be  pleased  to  co¬ 
operate  with  me  in  my  humble  efforts,  and  explain 
my  views  to  Her  Majesty,  that  she  take  not  umbrage. 
If  you  oppose  us,  we  shall  never  succeed.”  Chang 
replied  :  “  The  Empress  is  very  wrath  with  you,  and 

declares  that  you  are  interfering  with  Palace  matters, 
which  concern  you  not.  Beware  of  meddling.”  With 
that  Chang  rudely  shook  his  sleeve,  and  left  the  room. 

An  incident  occurred  two  months  later  which  opened 
the  eyes  of  the  citizens  of  Peking,  and  forcibly  brought 
home  to  them  the  fact  that  a  new  power  had  arisen  in 
the  Palace.  Li  Lien-ying,  after  many  years,  had  chastised 
the  mandarin  world  with  whips  of  craftiness,  but  here 
was  one  who,  almost  at  his  first  coming,  chastised  them 
with  the  scorpions  of  his  contemptuous  wrath. 

Every  year,  for  fifteen  days  in  the  moon  of  June,  a 
sort  of  horse  show,  with  racing,  is  held  just  outside  the 
Southern  gate  of  the  “  Chinese  ”  city  of  Peking.  It  is, 
or  was,  a  fashionable  resort  at  which  most  of  the  young 

507 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


bloods  and  sprigs  of  the  Manchu  aristocracy  were  wont 
to  display  themselves,  either  riding  their  pacers  or  watch¬ 
ing  the  sport.  On  these  occasions  brawls  constantly 
occurred  between  the  henchmen  and  followers  of  high 
officials,  especially  if  local  etiquette  and  the  rules  of  the 
game  were  infringed.  The  sport  was  not  exactly  racing 
as  the  term  is  understood  elsewhere  :  the  track  is  narrow, 
lined  by  the  spectators,  and  on  it  the  riders  display  the 
paces  of  their  fast  trotters  and  amblers,  amidst  the  plaudits 
of  the  crowd.  It  is  more  a  parade  than  a  contest  of  speed, 
and  it  is  improper  for  one  horse  to  pass  another,  except 
when  the  owners  are  on  intimate  terms. 

The  Palace  eunuchs  always  looked  forward  to  this 
festival,  which  gave  them  an  opportunity  to  show  off 
their  horses  and  mules  in  public.  The  crowd  often 
included  the  most  fashionable  Manchu  women  and  the 
elite  of  the  gay  world,  so  that  to  “  lose  face  ”  at  the 
“Nan  Ting  ”  (as  the  fair  is  called)  meant  a  discomfiture 
from  which  a  ruffling  blade  might  never  recover. 

In  June  1911  the  eunuch  Chang  Yiian-fu  attended 
at  this  festival,  accompanied  by  a  faithful  myrmidon 
named  Shen  (also  a  favourite  with  Lung  Yu).  He  brought 
with  him  a  large  retinue  of  servants  and  four  beautiful 
black  mules,  one  of  which  was  ridden  by  Shen.  Chang 
himself  looked  on.  Suddenly,  as  Shen  was  pacing  down 
the  track,  a  certain  Tientsin  man,  named  Wang,  de¬ 
liberately  raced  past  him.  Shen,  furious  at  this  loss  of 
face,  ordered  his  servants  to  pull  Wang  off  his  horse. 
Nothing  loth,  they  did  so  and  belaboured  him  soundly, 
Chang  all  the  while  reviling  him  from  the  stand.  In  the 
midst  of  the  disturbance  Duke  P’u  Shan,1  who  was 
sitting  close  to  Chang,  interposed.  “We  all  know  your 
power,”  said  he,  “  but  you  will  probably  admit  that 
a  member  of  the  Imperial  family  is  not  to  be  insulted. 

1  A  great  grandson  of  Chia-ch’ing  and  second  cousin  to  the  young 
Emperor. 


508 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


This  mail  Wang  is  my  friend.  If  you  do  not  obtain  an 
immediate  apology  from  eunuch  Shen,  I  shall  complain 
to  Prince  Su  ”  (Minister  of  the  Interior).  At  this 
Chang  laughed  scornfully  :  “You  had  better  complain 
to  the  Empress  Dowager  while  you  are  about  it,”  said 
he,  “  and  I  will  give  you  something  to  complain  for.” 
Whereupon  he  called  his  satellites,  who  pulled  Duke 
P’u  Shan  from  off  the  stand  and  flogged  him  soundly  with 
a  horse-whip.  The  police,  who  up  to  this  time  had  been 
standing  by,  deep  in  thought,  with  their  hands  in  their 
sleeves  (anxious  to  avoid  getting  into  trouble  with  either 
party),  now  came  up  and  besought  the  eunuch  to  spare 
the  Duke,  if  only  for  their  sakes — in  a  broil  of  this  kind 
the  police  are  always  severely  punished.  Their  officer, 
Yuan  Te-liang,  tried  to  patch  up  a  peace;  as  the  hour 
was  late  and  the  city  gates  would  soon  be  closing,  the 
eunuchs  allowed  the  Duke  to  rise  and  depart,  while  they 
returned  to  the  Palace,  vowing  further  vengeance. 

On  the  following  day  they  turned  up  at  the  races  in 
force,  supported  moreover  by  about  a  hundred  sturdy 
contractors’  men  from  the  firm  of  “  Everlasting  Virtue,” 
all  of  whom  were  armed  with  carpenters’  tools ;  the 
eunuchs  carried  staves.  There  was  also  an  extra  large 
muster  of  police  on  the  scene,  while  Duke  P’u  Shan, 
burning  to  avenge  the  insult  of  the  previous  day,  had 
brought  a  goodly  number  of  Manchu  retainers.  There 
was,  therefore,  every  prospect  of  an  interesting  meeting; 
but  (as  usual,  when  serious  personal  injury  is  likely  to 
ensue)  it  first  took  the  form  of  a  fierce  bandying  of  abuse 
between  the  parties,  during  which  another  Imperial 
duke  came  up  and  offered  to  mediate.  He  said  he  would 
apologise,  in  Duke  P’u’s  name,  for  the  latter’s  infringe¬ 
ment  of  etiquette,  and  he  begged  the  three  eunuchs  to 
meet  him  and  Duke  P’u  at  dinner  in  a  fashionable 
restaurant  on  the  following  evening,  when  the  amende 
honorable  would  be  formally  concluded.  To  this  the 

509 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


Chief  Eunuch  felt  that  lie  could  agree  without  loss  of 
dignity.  P’u  Shan  then  uttered  a  few  words  of  grudging 
apology,  in  the  presence  of  a  huge  crowd  of  spectators. 
Naturally  the  sole  topic  of  conversation  at  Peking,  for 
several  days  following  this  incident,  was  the  power  of 
the  eunuch,  against  whom  even  a  scion  of  the  Imperial 
house  was  helpless. 

Duke  P’u  reported  the  matter  in  due  course  to  Prince 
Su,  who  condoled  with  him  on  his  loss  of  face,  but 
frankly  said  he  could  do  nothing.  “  Do  you  expect 
me  to  ask  the  Empress  Dowager  to  dismiss  Chang? 
She  would  be  much  more  likely  to  dismiss  you.  Better 
stomach  the  affront,  and  avoid  offending  him  for  the 
future.” 

But  to  return  to  the  Regent.  His  troubles  and  diffi¬ 
culties  were  not  all  made  for  him  in  the  Palace  of  Lung  Yu. 
His  own  wife,  the  daughter  of  Jung  Lu,  gave  him  furiously 
to  think.  A  woman  of  remarkable  intelligence  and  inde¬ 
pendence  of  character,  she  has  always  inspired  the  Regent 
in  his  own  home  with  a  dull,  steady  kind  of  fear,  harder 
to  bear  and  more  nerve -stretching  than  the  swift  slings 
and  arrows  of  the  late  Empress  Dowager.  The  Regent’s 
wife  is,  indeed,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  results  of  the 
impact  of  the  West  in  China— a  woman  who  only  awaits 
the  coming  of  the  illustrated  halfpenny  paper  to  fill  the 
eye  and  cheer  the  heart  of  the  Chinese  public,  and  in 
other  ways  to  emulate  her  vivacious  and  emancipated 
sisters,  and  the  suffragettes  of  the  Western  world.  Until 
the  abdication  of  the  Regent,  she  was  everywhere  and 
anywhere  in  Peking ;  business,  politics,  society,  the  play- 
all  felt  her  restless  hand  and  knew  her  shrill  voice.  To 
the  man  in  the  street,  who  regarded  her  with  open  awe, 
as  a  strange  manifestation  of  the  latest  ways  of  Providence, 
she  was  known  as  the  “  Eighth  Married  Sister,”  she  being 
the  eighth  of  Jung  Lu’s  daughters. 

The  Regent,  as  a  prudent  politician,  was  greatly 

510 


Marble  Bridge  in  the  Imperial  Palace,  at  the  Time  of  the  Occupation  by  the  Allies  in  1900. 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


troubled  by  many  of  his  wife’s  doings,  by  her  extravagance, 
her  lack  of  modest  decorum,  and  her  revolutionary 
ideas  on  the  subject  of  the  emancipation  of  women. 
These  she  emphasised,  inter  alia,  by  going  to  the  theatre 
escorted  only  by  her  adopted  brother,  Liang  K’uei,  a 
notorious  spendthrift  and  ruffling  blade.  She  was  always 
to  be  found  at  the  Temple  fairs,  at  the  bazaars  outside 
the  city,  at  race  meetings  and  fashionable  restaurants, 
and,  being  known  to  the  populace,  was  generally  followed 
about  by  an  admiring  crowd.  She  was  for  ever  frequent¬ 
ing  the  shops  which  sell  European  articles,  and  would 
run  up  reckless  bills,  leaving  her  husband  or  her  brother 
to  pay  them.  On  one  occasion,  when  the  Regent  had 
screwed  his  courage  to  the  sticking  point  and  rebuked 
her  for  frequenting  the  Chinese  city  without  an  escort, 
she  replied  :  “  European  Empresses  and  Queens  go  about 
incognito  wherever  they  choose,  and  I  shall  do  the  same. 
I  do  not  ask  you  to  accompany  me.”  At  the  time  the 
revolution  broke  out  she  was  planning  a  trip  to  Shanghai 
— having  heard  much  praise  of  the  shops  and  theatres 
of  the  “  Model  Settlement  ” — and  treated  with  the  con¬ 
tempt  they  deserved  her  husband’s  suggestions  of  revolu¬ 
tionary  attempts  on  her  life.  She  is  quite  fearless,  with 
the  courage  of  a  woman  who  has  no  time  to  think  of  danger. 
In  her  independence  she  resembles  the  proud,  uncurbed 
spirit  of  the  American  woman.  It  is  recorded  of  her, 
that  even  in  her  youth  she  was  one  of  the  few  people 
who  dared  to  answer  the  Old  Buddha,  and  that,  on  one 
occasion,  Tzu  Hsi  said  to  Jung  Lu  :  “  Your  daughter  is 
incorrigible;  she  defies  every  one,  she  defies  even  Us  !  ” 
Nevertheless,  Tzu  Hsi  liked  her,  and  arranged  for  her 
marriage  with  Prince  Ch’un.  The  only  person  who  could 
control  and  guide  her  actions  during  the  Regency  was  her 
near  relative,  Kuei  Chun. 

Clearly  the  Regent’s  lot  was  not  a  happy  one,  and  in 
judging  the  failure  which  he  made  of  his  little  day  of 

511 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


brief  authority,  allowance  must  surely  be  made  for  a  man 
confronted  on  the  one  hand  by  Lung  Yii,  a  woman  of 
boundless  ambition  and  power  of  intrigue,  and,  on  the 
other,  by  the  “  mean  one  of  his  inner  chamber,”  the 
excesses  of  whose  frivolity  he  could  neither  anticipate 
nor  check. 


512 


CONCLUSION 


Those  who  have  followed  the  course  of  events  in  the 
Far  East  during  the  past  two  years,  that  is  to  say,  since 
the  ignominious  collapse  of  the  Manchu  power  and  Young 
China’s  little  hour  of  brief  authority,  must  have  been 
struck  by  the  general,  almost  unanimous  concurrence  of 
opinion,  expressed  in  Europe  and  America  alike,  that, 
with  the  establishment  of  a  Republican  form  of  govern¬ 
ment,  China  had  undergone  a  sudden  and  radical  trans¬ 
formation  ;  that  the  essential  qualities  of  the  people  had 
been  completely  changed,  and  all  its  social  and  political 
institutions  regenerated.  Students  of  history  and  socio¬ 
logical  science  are  familiar  with  this  persistent  and  imper¬ 
ishable  delusion.  It  arises,  as  Herbert  Spencer  has  said, 
from  “  the  difficulty  of  understanding  that  human  nature, 
though  indefinitely  modifiable,  can  be  modified  but  slowly ; 
and  that  all  laws  and  institutions  and  appliances  which 
count  on  getting  from  it,  within  a  short  time,  results  much 
better  than  present  ones,  will  inevitably  fail.”  It  may 
fairly  be  said  that  missionaries  in  China  and  philanthropists 
generally  are  subject  to  this  delusion  as  a  matter  of  voca¬ 
tional  necessity;  that  special  correspondents  cherish  it, 
because  a  belief  in  new  eras  and  dramatic  transformation- 
scenes  appeals  naturally  to  the  journalist,  whose  business 
it  is  “to  see  history  in  the  making;”  and  that  many 
politicians  encourage  it  for  purposes  which  have  nothing  to 
do  with  philanthropy.  Every  new  political  scheme  that 
has  ever  been  commended  to  a  hopeful  world,  counts  on 
the  imperishable  vitality  of  this  Utopian  fallacy,  and  on 
ll  513 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


the  fact  that  it  flourishes  with  particular  vigour  amongst 
those  civilised  nations  whose  habit  it  is  to  cloak  the  brutal 
realities  of  life  with  a  tissue  of  more  or  less  conventional 
ideals. 

The  idea  of  changing  the  social  structure  of  a  race, 
not  to  say  human  nature,  by  virtue  of  the  Republican 
form  of  government,  is  one  of  the  commonest  manifesta¬ 
tions  of  this  perennial  delusion.  As  applied  to  China, 
in  her  recent  dynastic  convulsion,  it  has  been  warmly 
welcomed  by  public  opinion  in  Europe,  and  with  even 
greater  fervour  in  America,  as  heralding  the  dawn  of  a  new 
and  happy  day  in  farthest  Asia ;  and  this,  in  spite  of  the 
startling  demonstration  concurrently  afforded  by  Mexico, 
of  the  instability  of  the  structure  upon  which  all  such  hopes 
are  founded.  The  “  unexampled  felicity,”  which  the  Mon¬ 
roe  doctrine  declares  to  be  the  inheritance  and  reward  of  a 
Republican  form  of  government,  takes  the  form,  in  Mexico, 
as  in  China,  of  prolonged  and  aggravated  misery  for  the 
masses,  proving  once  more  that  despotic  authority  remains 
necessary  for  the  maintenance  of  law  and  order  amongst 
peoples  incapacitated  by  their  character  and  circumstances 
from  acquiring  representative  institutions.  Remove  that 
authority,  for  any  reasons  which  are  not  slowly  determined 
by  the  natural  evolution  of  the  race,  and  the  result,  as 
Mill  says,  must  be  another  form  of  despotism— “  a  despot¬ 
ism,  not  even  legal,  but  of  illegal  violence,  which  would 
be  alternatively  exercised  by  a  succession  of  political 
adventurers  and  under  which  the  names  and  forms  of 
representation  would  have  no  effect  but  to  prevent 
despotism  from  attaining  the  stability  and  security  by 
which  alone  its  evils  can  be  mitigated  and  its  few  advan¬ 
tages  realised.”  There  is  much  food  for  thought  in  the 
difference  between  the  American  Government’s  attitude 
of  to-day  towards  the  Republic  of  China  and  that  which 
it  feels  constrained  to  adopt  towards  the  Republic  of 
Mexico ;  nevertheless,  and  in  spite  of  this  remarkable 

514 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


illustration  of  the  delusiveness  of  hopes  based  on  the 
regenerative  power  of  political  formulae,  we  look  in  vain 
for  signs,  either  at  Washington  or  elsewhere,  of  recognition 
of  the  truth  that  “  so  long  as  the  characteristics  of  citizens 
remain  substantially  unchanged,  there  can  be  no  change  in 
the  political  organisation  which  has  slowly  been  evolved 
by  them,”  1  which  is  merely  another  way  of  saying  that 
every  people  get  the  government  it  deserves,  and  that  the 
sins  of  the  fathers  are  visited  on  the  children. 

These  conclusions,  which  most  students  of  sociology  will 
draw  from  the  present  condition  of  affairs  in  China,  and 
from  the  restoration  of  despotic  authority  in  the  hands  of 
Yuan  Shih-k’ai,  follow  naturally  from  the  history  of  the 
country,  not  only  during  the  period  covered  by  the  present 
work,  but  for  many  centuries  before  the  overthrow  of  the 
Mongol  dynasty.  Yuan  Shih-k’ai,  if  he  lives,  must 
govern  China  by  methods  very  similar  to  those  by  which 
Porfirio  Diaz  gave  stability  and  security  to  the  govern¬ 
ment  of  Mexico.  In  other  words,  what  was  true  of  China 
when  the  Manchus  first  established  their  dynasty  at 
Peking,  remains  true  to-day.  As  General  Shih  K’o-fa 
said  in  1644,  “  a  supreme  ruler  is  needed  to  inspire  the 
nation  with  courage  and  patriotism ;  without  one,  no 
national  spirit  can  exist.  History  has  approved  of  this 
principle,  and  has  recognised  that  in  no  other  way  can  the 
fortunes  of  the  State  be  preserved.”  2 

The  daily  life  of  the  average  educated  European  is  so 
deeply  affected  by  the  political  institutions  which  have 
been  gradually  evolved  throughout  the  Western  world ; 
his  material  progress,  which  he  has  been  taught  to  regard 
as  a  blessing,  is  so  closely  identified  with  political  ideas 
and  the  laws  which  express  them,  that  he  is  naturally 
disposed  to  be  impressed  by  the  surface  phenomena  of 
Young  China’s  political  activities  and  to  attribute  to  them 

1  Spencer,  Study  of  Sociology,  Chap.  VI. 

2  Vide  supra,  p.  181. 

515 


LL  2 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


an  importance  far  beyond  anything  that  they  inherently 
possess.  It  is  true  of  China,  as  of  India,  Persia,  and 
Turkey  (and,  for  that  matter,  of  Japan)  that,  on  the  surface 
of  the  deep  sea  of  national  life,  rapid  phenomena  of  dis¬ 
integration  are  perceptible,  and  new  structures  are  forming ; 
but  the  social  conditions  of  the  masses  and  their  incapacity 
for  self-government  remain  at  a  stage  generally  similar  to 
that  which  existed  in  Southern  Europe  before  the  Christian 
era.  The  average  observer  notes  this  fact,  but  he  often  fails 
to  apply  to  sociological  problems  the  laws  of  evolution. 

As  to  the  question  of  the  moral  preferability  of  one  or 
the  other  type  of  civilisation,  the  active  European  or  the 
passive  Oriental,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  main  con¬ 
currence  of  opinion  (even  amongst  moralists)  in  European 
countries  is  all  against  the  passive  ideal  inculcated  by  the 
founder  of  the  Christian  religion.  With  this  aspect  of 
the  question  we  are  not  here  concerned,  further  than  to 
observe,  that  if  the  test  of  a  civilisation  be  sought  in  the 
average  individual’s  opportunities  of  happiness,  the  East 
may  well  dispute  the  moral  superiority  claimed  by  the 
West,  and  resent  our  satisfaction  at  the  prospect  of  a 
Europeanised  China. 

The  principal  conclusion  which  appears  to  be  justified  by 
these  annals  and  memoirs,  gathered  from  three  centuries  of 
Chinese  history,  is  that  it  were  folly  to  expect  stability  and 
efficiency  from  any  political  institutions  in  China  which 
do  not  conform  to  the  deep-rooted  sentiments  and  tradi¬ 
tions  of  the  masses.  The  most  cursory  study  of  the  country’s 
history  should  prevent  us  from  mistaking  superficial  for 
fundamental  phenomena.  It  may  be,  as  a  distinguished 
American  professor  has  lately  written  after  a  tour  of 
China,  that  “  in  forty  years  there  will  be  telephones  and 
moving  picture  shows  and  appendicitis  and  sanitation  and 
baseball  nines  and  bachelor  maids  in  every  one  of  the  one 
thousand  three  hundred  districts  of  the  Empire.”1  Remem- 
1  Prof.  E.  A.  Ross,  in  The  Changing  Chinese,  1911. 

516 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


bering  the  similar  prophecies  of  Mr.  Anson  Burlinghame 
(similarly  inspired),  forty  years  ago,  we  are  content  to  wait 
and  see,  only  hoping  that  China,  protected  by  her  poverty, 
may  escape  these  undeserved  calamities.  But  even  if  they 
must  fall  upon  her,  neither  these,  nor  any  other  results 
of  our  triumphant  materialism  are  likely  to  disturb,  for 
many  generations  to  come,  the  Oriental’s  attitude  toward 
the  things  that  matter;  his  conception  of  the  purposes 
and  relative  values  of  existence ;  his  views  on  birth, 
marriage,  and  death;  all  the  fundamental  truths  and 
beliefs  which  constitute  the  inner  life,  the  very  soul  of  a 
people.  It  may  gratify  the  Wisconsin  Professor’s  bene¬ 
volent  instincts  to  believe  that  “  the  renaissance  of  a 
quarter  of  the  human  family  is  occurring  before  our  eyes, 
and  we  have  only  to  sit  in  the  parquet  and  watch  the 
stage,”  because  “  nowadays  world  processes  are  telescoped 
and  history  is  made  at  aviation  speed,”  but  all  human 
experience  and  biological  science  proclaim,  nevertheless, 
with  one  voice,  that  the  racial  instincts  which  find  their 
expression  in  China’s  social  and  political  systems  can  only 
be  modified  by  a  very  slow  process  of  evolution.  If  by 
“renaissance”  we  mean  a  complete  change  of  the  ethical 
ideals  and  traditional  culture  of  a  race,  with  whom  reverence 
for  the  past  has  attained  the  force  of  instinct,  if  we  look 
for  a  swift  shedding  of  the  accumulated  experience  of 
centuries,  history  (as  contained  in  these  Annals)  forbids  us 
to  cherish  any  such  comfortable  fantasies. 

The  history  of  China  shows  clearly  that  the  greatest 
danger  which  can  threaten  the  nation  during  its  inevitably 
recurring  crises  of  economic  and  political  unrest,  lies  not 
in  foreign  invasions,  nor  even  in  alien  rule,  but  in  a  weaken¬ 
ing  of  those  ethical  restraints,  of  that  ancient  moral 
discipline,  upon  which  has  rested  the  world’s  oldest 
civilisation ;  of  those  qualities  from  which  the  race  draws 
its  unconquerable  strength.  The  history  of  Japan  and 
the  wisdom  of  her  Elder  Statesmen  proclaim  the  same 

517 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


truth ;  if  Dai  Nippon  has  come  safely  thus  far  through  her 
great  perils  of  change,  if  she  has  been  able  to  assimilate 
the  material  arts  and  crafts  of  the  West  and  adapt  them  to 
her  own  needs,  it  is,  as  Lafcadio  Hearn  justly  said,  “  be¬ 
cause  under  new  forms  of  rule  and  new  conditions  of  social 
activity,  she  could  still  maintain  a  great  deal  of  the  ancient 
discipline.”  It  was  imperative  for  Japan,  as  it  is  impera¬ 
tive  for  China,  that  great  changes  should  be  made,  but  it 
is  equally  imperative  that  they  should  be  of  a  character 
which  shall  not  endanger  the  foundations. 

Those  who  supported  the  inauguration  of  a  Republican 
form  of  government  in  China,  and  believed  in  its  practical 
utility,  advocated  something  which  seriously  endangers  the 
foundations,  because  it  undermines  the  ethical  basis  of 
China’s  whole  social  system.  The  government  which  Yuan 
Shih-k’ai  is  administering  at  this  moment  is  no  more 
Republican  than  was  that  of  Kublai  Khan.  He  recognised 
instinctively,  at  the  outset,  as  did  Prince  Ito  in  Japan, 
how  vitally  necessary  is  the  preservation  of  the  unbroken 
continuity  of  ancient  traditions.  He  knows  that  all  the 
instincts  and  experience  of  the  race  will  accept  his  exercise 
of  despotic  authority,  so  long  as  his  rule  follows  established 
precedent  and  conforms  to  popular  sentiments  and 
traditions.  The  annals  upon  which  we  have  drawn  reveal 
on  every  page  the  truth,  that  this  people  understands 
and  accepts  the  government  of  a  despot,  whether  his 
methods  be  benevolent  or  brutal,  provided  that  he  rule 
according  to  the  patriarchal  precedents  of  the  Canons  of 
the  Sages.  Let  him,  if  he  will,  deck  the  surface  of  Chinese 
life  with  strange  inventions  from  the  West,  but  let  him 
not  disturb  those  silent  depths  wherein  lie  all  the  moral 
and  social  experience  of  the  race. 

Of  the  Zeitgeist  in  Japan,  where  the  outward  and  visible 
manifestations  of  materialism  and  commercialism  have 
become  so  conspicuous,  Hearn  observed  ten  years  ago  : 

“  It  were  a  grave  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  ancestor- 

518 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


cult  has  yet  been  appreciably  affected  by  exterior  influences 
of  any  kind,  or  to  imagine  that  it  continues  to  exist  merely 
by  force  of  hallowed  custom.  No  religion — and  least  of 
all  the  religion  of  the  dead — could  thus  suddenly  lose  its 
hold  upon  the  affections  of  the  race  that  evolved  it. 
Even  in  other  directions,  the  new  scepticism  is  superficial ; 
it  has  not  spread  downwards  into  the  core  of  things.” 

If  this  be  true  of  Japan,  the  observation  applies  with  far 
greater  force  to  China.  For,  because  of  their  religious 
and  social  training,  the  Japanese  brought  into  the  crisis 
of  their  contact  with  the  West,  virtues  of  patriotism, 
courage  and  loyalty,  which  the  Chinese  lack.  To  China 
remain  those  passive  virtues  which  spring  from  the  religion 
of  ancestor  worship,  chief  of  which  and  most  powerful 
as  a  factor  of  cohesion,  is  the  sentiment  of  duty  to  the 
dead.  It  is  this  sentiment  which  invests  the  world’s  oldest 
civilisation  with  a  philosophic  dignity  and  elements  of 
happiness  that  the  West  instinctively  respects  and  envies ; 
with  virtues  which  survive  even  when  bereft  of  this 
world’s  goods.  For  the  preservation  of  this  sentiment, 
the  unbroken  continuity  of  ancient  traditions,  including 
the  monarchical-patriarchal  system  of  government,  is 
evidently  essential.  Throughout  the  brief  period  of 
Chinese  history  with  which  we  have  dealt  in  this  volume, 
the  darkest  hours  of  national  humiliation  and  disaster  have 
ever  been  lightened  by  the  example  of  a  minority,  splendidly 
faithful  to  the  Canons  of  the  Sages,  and  to  their  stoics’ 
tradition  of  courage  and  unselfish  loyalty.  Young  China, 
or  at  least  that  section  of  it  which  has  acquired  its 
learning  and  its  inspiration  from  abroad,  mocks  at  the 
Sages.  The  student  class,  full  of  the  wind  of  new  doctrines 
from  Tokyo,  Harvard  and  Edinburgh,  would  destroy  in 
a  day  the  splendid  edifice  of  Confucian  philosophy  and 
replace  it  by  jerry-built  structures  of  its  own  vain  imagin¬ 
ings,  tenements  all  uninhabitable  by  the  sons  of  Han. 
These,  more  than  invading  hosts,  the  soul  of  the  people 

519 


ANNALS  AND  MEMOIRS  OF 


fears  and  distrusts,  not  only  because  they  would  desert  the 
old  ways,  but  because  their  new  ways  have  been  weighed 
in  the  balance  of  morality  and  found  wanting.  Already, 
even  at  Canton,  there  are  signs  of  the  inevitable  reaction, 
and  portents  of  an  orthodox  revival. 

The  Throne  and  the  Court  remain,  therefore,  necessary 
integral  parts  of  China’s  social  system  and  cult  of  ancestors. 
To  these,  sooner  or  later,  the  instinct  of  the  race  must  insist¬ 
ently  return.  It  was  perception  of  this  truth,  that  caused 
Li  Hung-chang  to  support  the  Manchus  in  1901,  not  because 
they  were  good,  but  because  they  were  there,  and  because, 
in  his  opinion,  no  individual  or  family  in  China,  without 
fighting  a  successful  civil  war,  could  command  the  respect 
of  the  people  in  measure  sufficient  to  found  a  new  dynasty. 
Whether  Yuan  Shih-k’ai  will  be  able  to  command  it 
remains  to  be  seen,  but  every  day  increases  his  chances 
of  success.  In  biding  his  time,  he  is  conforming  strictly 
to  precedent,  as  established  by  the  soldier-priest  founder 
of  the  Ming  dynasty.  He  has  made  no  secret  of  his 
contempt  for  the  Republican  mirage,  which  for  him  means 
“  the  instability  of  a  rampant  democracy,  of  dissension  and 
partition.”  In  these  sentiments,  he  has  not  only  the 
support  of  the  literati,  but  the  inarticulate  approval  of  the 
masses.  He  realises  that  China’s  best  hope  lies,  not  in  a 
sudden  revolutionary  destruction  of  the  old  order,  but  in 
slow  steady  growth,  by  educative  processes,  which  shall 
enable  the  nation  to  adapt  itself  gradually  to  its  changed 
environment.  He  knows  that,  whether  as  a  sovereign 
State,  or  under  foreign  dominion,  the  unconquerable 
vitality  of  China,  long  tested  in  the  crucible  of  time,  lies 
in  the  moral  qualities  of  her  common  people,  in  the 
unconscious  heroism  of  a  race  of  cheerful  toilers,  in  the 
enduring  qualities  of  body  and  mind  which  have  preserved 
the  soul  of  this  nation  steadfast  and  undismayed  through 
countless  generations.  It  is  a  people  which,  as  Sir  Robert 
Hart  once  said,  “  believes  in  right  so  firmly  that  they 

520 


i 


The  Eastern  Entrance  to  the  Lake  Palace,  after  the  Flight  of  the  Court  in  igoo. 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 


scorn  to  think  it  requires  to  be  enforced  by  might”; 
a  people  which  has  often  led  captivity  captive  and  will  do 
so  again,  because  it  has  retained  that  elemental  Christian 
virtue  which  refuses  to  regard  material  advantage  as  the 
be-all  and  end-all  of  existence.  “  The  thoughts  of  the 
heart,  these  are  the  wealth  of  a  man,”  says  the  Sage. 

The  rough  outline,  contained  in  these  annals,  of  that 
period  of  China’s  history  which  leads  up  to  her  first 
relations  with  the  Western  world,  should  enable  the  reader 
to  form  a  general  idea  of  the  economic  and  political 
problems  created  by  her  ancient  social  system,  of  the 
forces  which  have  rough-hewed  the  character  of  the 
people.  In  order  to  understand  the  problems  which 
perplex  the  nation  to-day,  it  is  necessary  that  we  should 
approach  them  with  sympathetic  knowledge  of  its  religious 
and  sociological  evolution.  To  this  end,  the  voice  of 
Young  China  helps  us  but  little,  for  Young  China  is 
morally  an  alien  in  its  own  land ;  some  hundreds  or  thou¬ 
sands  of  foreign  degrees  taken  by  its  students  cannot 
alter  the  fact  that  the  Chinese  people  remains  in  the  patri¬ 
archal  stage  of  development.  It  is  unfortunate  that  Young 
China  (like  Young  India),  being  highly  vocal,  should  have 
commanded  so  wide  an  audience  and  inspired  so  many 
illusions  abroad,  that  superficial  disintegration  should 
have  been  so  widely  interpreted  to  imply  a  vast  upheaval 
of  the  depths;  because  Young  China,  imbued  with  an 
exaggerated  sense  of  its  own  importance,  becomes  a  danger 
to  itself  and  to  the  nation.  Those  who  have  followed  the 
history  of  the  Ming  and  Manchu  dynasties  in  their  de¬ 
cline  and  fall,  must  realise  that  this  is  true;  and  that 
socially,  morally  and  economically,  the  Chinese  race,  so 
long  a  law  unto  itself,  remains  much  the  same  to-day  as 
it  was  a  thousand  years  ago.  Even  Young  China,  as 
represented  by  its  fiercest  iconoclasts,  unconsciously  fulfils 
the  laws  which  ages  of  moral  experience  have  written  deep 
in  the  heart  of  the  race.  Bravely  it  parades  its  foreign 

521 


THE  COURT  OF  PEKING 

clothes  and  foreign  ideas  from  platform  and  press,  but  in 
the  privacy  of  its  home,  in  the  market  place  and  even  in 
its  foreign-built  government  offices,  it  yields  atavistic 
allegiance  to  those  laws  of  its  inheritance  which  it  can  never 
evade,  to  authority  of  traditions  from  which  it  can  never 
escape.  As  has  been  finely  said,  in  China  “  law  is  not  a 
rule  imposed  from  above,  it  is  the  formula  of  the  national 
life,  and  its  embodiment  in  practice  precedes  its  inscription 
on  a  code.  Hence  it  is  that  in  China,  government  is  neither 
arbitrary  nor  indispensable.  Destroy  our  authorities, 
central  and  provincial,  and  our  life  will  proceed  very  much 
as  before.  Come  what  may,  the  family  remains,  with  all 
that  it  involves,  the  atiiiude  of  mind  remains,  the  spirit  of 
order,  industry  and  thrift.  These  it  is  that  make  up 
China” 


INDEX 


Abbe  Hue,  Travels  in  Tibet,  cited,  n. 
333,  n.  399 

Abbot  of  T’ien  Tai  temple,  237 ;  also 
vide  Shun  Chili 
Abtai,  Prince,  155,  242—45 
Alexander  I  of  Russia,  236 
Alexander  VII,  Pope,  223 
A-Lu-te,  Empress,  420-22,  468,  469,  477, 
478 

Amherst  Mission,  381  et  seq. 

Amin,  Prince,  144 

“  Anhui  Official,  An,”  Chinese  annalist, 
474 

An  Te-hai,  Chief  Eunuch,  420,  477,  490, 
502 

Aomen  (Macao),  foreign  traders’  base  for 
Canton,  327  et  seq. 

Ao  Pai,  Regent,  219,  242,  243,  257 
Aristotle’s  sacrifice  to  Hermias  cited,  18 
Astrologers  and  soothsayers,  40,  226 
Astronomers,  Court  of,  44,  106,  n.  244, 
498 

Banners,  Manchu,  institution  of,  139, 
150,  359 

Benedict  XIII,  Pope,  307,  308 
Board  of  Ceremonies,  279 
Board  of  Punishments,  76 
Board  of  Regents,  242 
Board  of  Rites,  273 
Bocca  Tigris,  bombarded,  400 
Book  of  Rites,  quoted,  178 
Borjikin,  Empress,  242,  n.  256 
Borjikitu,  Lady,  162,  231,  242,  n.  475 
“  Bom  out  of  Time,”  Chinese  Annalist, 
quoted,  230-32.  n.  297,  490  ct  seq. 
Bouvet,  Joachim,  240,  243 
Boxer  indemnity,  n.  367 
Boxer  leaders,  443,  448,  449,  459,  463 
British  at  Canton,  391 
British  embassies  to  China,  311,  320  et 
seq.,  381  et  seq. 

British  trade  in  China,  311,  322,  326, 
327,  381 

merchandise,  duties  on,  329 


Brothers  of  Yung  Cheng,  269  et  seq. 

titles  restored  by  Ch’ien  Lung,  301 
Buddhist  All  Souls’  Day,  424 
Buddhist  arts  of  incantation,  346 
Building  operations  in  Palace,  500  et 
seq.,  505 

Burmese  King,  218 

Canon  of  History,  quoted,  39,  390 
Canons  of  the  Sages,  184,  185,  214 
Canton,  blockaded,  399 
European  trade  at,  311,  325 
Censorate,  the,  57,  65,  351,  391 
suicide  of  President  of,  109 
Chahar  Mongols,  145 
Chang  Ch’ai,  448  et  seq. 

Chang  Chih-tung.  n.  303,  438 
Chang  Chin,  30  et  seq. 

Chang  Fu,  463,  464 
Chang  Hsien-chung,  94 
Chang  Kuo-chi,  60,  63,  67 
Ch’ang  Lo,  Prince,  47  et  seq.,  also  vide 
Emperor  Kuang  Tsung 
Chang  Ming-ti,  262,  265  et  seq. 

Chang  Te,  Emperor,  24  et  seq. 

Chang  Yin-huan,  430 
Chang  Yiian-fu,  Chief  Eunuch,  496, 
497,  500  et  seq , 

and  horse-show  brawl,  508,  509 
and  Regent,  501 
insolence  of,  503  et  seq. 
quarrel  with  Li  Chia-chu,  506,  507 
residence  of,  505 
Cheng,  Concubine,  47-52,  55 
Cheng  Kuo -tai,  brother  of  Concubine 
Cheng,  48 

Cheng,  Prince,  co-Regent  with  Dorgun, 
158 

Ch’eng,  Prince,  elder  brother  of  Cilia 
Ch’ing,  349.  365,  368,  376,  412,  413, 
418 

Ch’eng  Te,  373,  374 
Ch’en  Hsin-chia,  148,  149,  154 
Ch’en,  Lady,  the  “  Round-faced  Beauty,” 
120-22 


523 


INDEX 


Ch’en  Liang-mi,  111 
Ch’en  Yen,  107 

Chia  Ch’ing,  Emperor,  311,  322 
and  Ho  Shen,  345,  346,  349  et  seq. 
and  Amherst  Mission,  381  et  seq. 
character  of,  336,  361,  373 
conspiracies  against,  373  et  seq.,  478 
death  of,  n.  350,  390 
decrees,  347.  350,  359  et  seq..  360,  361, 
370,  375,  377,  379,  382,  385 
Chia  Ch’ing’s  sister,  359 
Chiang  Hsiang,  96,  97 
Chiang  Te-ying,  97 

Ch’ien  Lung,  Emperor,  18,  59,  138,  234 
abdication  of,  310,  345 
and  Ho  Shen,  344  et  seq. 
and  Macartney  Mission,  321  et  seq. 
and  Stranger  Concubine,  341 
campaigns,  310 
character  of,  310,  334  et  seq. 
death  of,  347 

devotion  to  the  chase,  334 
domestic  affairs,  334 
escapades,  338 
his  heir,  311  seq. 
letter  to  George  III,  331  et  seq. 
restores  titles  to  sons  of  Iv’ang  Hsi, 
301 

Ch’ien  Men  quarter,  420 
Chihli,  Manchu  raid  into,  144 
Chi  Lu,  441 

China  Under  the  Empress  Dowager. 
referred  to,  9,  409,  417,  419,  423, 
437,  442,  466 

Ch’ing,  Prince,  n.  365,  446,  447,  450,  456 
Clung  Fu’s  memorial,  500 
Clung  Shan,  466 
Cliing  Tai,  Emperor,  438 
Chinese  poetry,  316 
Chinese  social  system,  14 
Chinese  women  debarred  from  entering 
Forbidden  City,  475 
Ch’i  Hsiu,  412,  447 
Chin  Tartars,  150,  181 
Ch’i  Shan,  399  et  seq. 

Chi  T’an-jan,  218 
Chou  Yii-chi,  95.  96 
Christianity  in  China,  330 

conversion  of  Pxinces.  247,  273 
Jesuits  at  Court  of  K’ang  Hsi,  241 
Palace  missionaries  forbidden  to  hold 
intercourse  with  Chinese,  330 
practised  by  Imperial  clanswomen,  221 
Chu  Chih-feng,  98,  99 
Chu  Kuei,  331 

Ch’ung  Chen,  Emperor,  82,  92  et  seq., 
187 


Ch’ung  Chen  ( continued ) 
death  of,  103 
burial  of,  104,  105,  154 
Chung  Ch’i,  420,  422 
Chung  Hou-so,  taken  by  assault,  158 
Chung  Li,  458 

Ch’un,  Prince,  Regent,  n.  302,  n.  303,  n. 
433,  493,  494,  497,  501,  510 
and  Chang  Yiian-fu,  501,  506 
his  wife,  510,  511 
Ch’un,  Princess,  473,  491 
Chusan,  British  request  for  island  near, 
328 

Ck’u  Tsung,  278 
Chii  Yen-kuan,  99 

Chu  Yiian-chang,  23,  n.  135,  220,  224 
Civil  service,  18,  390 
Civil  service  examinations,  410  et  seq.,  427 
Coal  Hill,  101,  276,  300,  301 
Confucian  philosophy,  14,  109,  167,  498 
tradition,  15 

Confucius  quoted,  181,  345,  350 
grave  of,  82 

Constitutional  government,  498 
Coup  d'etat  of  1898,  430,  436,  437 
Court,  profligacy  of,  187 
Court  of  Astronomers,  44,  100,  498 
Court  of  Imperial  Clan,  275,  418 

Dalai  Lama,  320,  321,  352 
Decapitation,  etiquette  of,  418 
Degenerate  Manchus,  372,  444  et  seq. 
Department  for  Tributary  States,  323 
De  Toqueville,  quoted,  14 
Diary  describing  sack  of  Yang  Chou-fu, 
188  et  seq. 

Diary  of  Ching  Shan,  466 
Diary  of  Manchu  official,  443,  et  seq. 
Dice-throwing,  243,  244 
“  Discerning  Concubine,”  421,  477 
Dominicans  and  Jesuits,  240 
Dominic,  Father,  222 
Dorgun,  Prince  Jui,  Manchu  Regent,  85, 
104,  132,  147,  157,  159,  168,  213 
appoints  himself  Generalissimo,  158 
becomes  Regent,  157,  158 
correspondence  with  Wu  San-kuei,  128- 
31 

death  of,  233 

defeats  Li  Tzu-cheng,  131 

enters  Peking,  127 

his  march  from  Shan  Hai-kuan  to  Chin 
Chou,  127 

posthumous  degradation,  233,  242 
receives  Ming  officials,  127 
Dorgun,  restitution  of  honours  by  Ch’ien 
Lung,  234 


524 


INDEX 


Dutch  in  China,  86 
Duties  on  merchandise,  329 
Dynastic  ordinances,  334 

Eastern  Court,  68 
East  India  Company,  381,  385 
Eclipses  as  omens,  318 
Edict  of  Toleration,  240 
Eleuths,  subjugation  of,  253,  281 
Elliott,  British  Commissioner,  400 
Ellis’s  Journal,  quoted,  382,  n.  383,  n. 
386 

Empress  Consort  of  Ch’ung  Chen,  102 
Empress  Helen,  222 
Eunuchs,  Palace, 

and  Government  appointments,  430 
Christians,  222 

conspire  against  Chia  Ch’ing,  378  et  seq. 
factions  of,  496,  508 
in  command  of  military  forces,  100 
power  at  Court,  17,  24,  46,  56,  100,  141, 
268,  406 

power  reduced  by  Shun  Chih,  232 
system  denounced  by  Li  Chia-chu, 
506 

tortured  and  beheaded  by  Li  Tzu-clieng, 

116 

under  Yung  Cheng,  306 
European  civilisation  compared  with 
Oriental,  14 
artillery,  145,  158,  173 
merchants  not  allowed  to  enter  city  of 
Canton,  329 

missionaries  compelled  to  adopt 
Chinese  dress,  323 
forbidden  to  leave  China,  323 
Europeans  classed  with  actors  and  sooth¬ 
sayers,  294 

Examinations,  civil  service,  reorganised 
by  Chu  Yiian-chang,  23 
classical,  revised  by  Shun  Chih,  229 
for  public  service,  410  ct  seq.,  427 

Fall  of  Peking,  166 
Fang  Tsung-che,  50  et  seq. 

Fan  Wen-eh’eng,  127,  159 
Fei,  handmaiden  at  Palace,  103 
Fontaney,  Jean  de,  240 
Fortune-tellers  and  astrologers,  44,  135, 
262 

Fu  Ch’ang-an,  349,  357  et  seq. 

Fu  K’ang-an,  n.  332 

Fu  Lin,  Prince,  son  of  Emperor  T’ai 
Tsung,  became  Emperor  Shun  Chih, 
231 

Fu,  Prince,  son  of  Lady  Cheng,  48,  55, 
60 


Genealogy  of  House  of  Gioro,  161 
Gerbillon,  Jean  Francois,  239,  n.  244 
Ghoorkas  of  Nepal,  320,  332,  333 
ask  aid  of  Great  Britain,  n.  333 
Gioro,  Genealogy  of  House  of,  161 
alleged  illegitimate  descent  of,  230, 
232 

“  Goddess  Chang,”  79,  83 
Gordon  and  the  “  ever-victorious  army,” 
422,  423 

Grand  Council,  101 

Grave  of  Confucius,  82 

Great  Wall,  113,  143 

“  Green  Monkey  ”  singing  girl,  458 

Grimaldi,  Philippe,  240 

Hall  of  Imperial  Longevity,  237,  291 
Hanlin  Academy,  25,  45,  258 
Hara-kiri,  Chinese  influence  in  origin  of, 
n.  109 

“  Harrier  Prince,”  nickname  of  Li  Tzu- 
cheng,  166,  175,  183 
Heavenly  Principles  Society,  378 
Heavenly  Reason  Society,  373 
Heng  Yi’s  reminiscences  of  Boxer  Year, 
453 

Hermias,  eunuch  Governor  of  Atarnea, 
18 

Histoire  Generate  de  la  Chine,  Pere 
Mailla’s,  n.  239,  n.  305 
Ho  Lin,  commander  in  Tibet,  320,  321 
Honan-fu,  siege  of,  88 
Hongkong,  ceded  to  Britain,  395 
Hongs,  foreign,  at  Canton,  326  et  seq. 

Ho  Shen,  Grand  Secretary,  18,  311,  3f9, 
321,  373,  503 
career  of,  345  et  seq. 
collection  of  curios,  366 
death  of,  358,  369 
disgraced,  349 
his  pearls,  n.  353 
indictment  of,  350  et  seq. 
investments  of,  366 
origin  of,  344 

power  and  wealth,  344,  364  et  seq. 

Ho  Shen’s  faction  and  anti-dynastic 
societies,  394 
Ho  Shih-t’ai,  387,  389 
House  laws  of  Manchus,  41,  230,  232,  248, 
312,  349,  435,  475,  476,  505 
House  laws  of  Mings,  52,  56,  65 
Hsiang,  Prince,  89 
Hsieh  Fu-chen,  Dr.,  481,  483 
Hsien  Feng,  Emperor,  403,  470  et  seq. 
accession  of,  405 
character  of,  405,  409 
death  of,  418,  422,  473 


525 


INDEX 


Hsin,  Prince,  brother  of  Emperor  Hsi 
Tsung,  who  succeeded  him  as  Em¬ 
peror  Ch’ung  Chen,  79,  80 
Hsi-ning,  Yiin  Tang’s  mission  to,  275, 

_  278,  279 

Hsi  Tsung,  Emperor,  55  et  seq. 

Hsing  Ching,  Nurhachi’s  capital,  140 
Hsiung,  Ming  general,  141,  142 
Hsiian-liua,  37,  94,  98 
Hsiian  Tsung,  Emperor,  24 
Hsiian  T’ung,  Emperor,  225,  n.  353 
education  of,  497  et  seq. 
parentage  of,  493 
Hsu  Ching-cli’eng,  455 
Hsu  Ch’ing-yii,  449,  450 
Hsu  T’ung,  443,  447,  449,  450,  459 
Hsii  Yung-yi,  455,  459 
Huai  River,  187 
Huang  Hsing,  225,  226 
Huang  Taiki,  fourth  son  of  Nurhachi,  143 
Huang  Te-hung,  Marquis,  189 
Huang  Tsun-su,  73 
Hung  Ch’eng-chou,  173 
Hung  Fu-lien,  425 
Hung  Kuang,  Emperor,  184,  215 
Hung,  “  the  Heavenly  King,”  424 

I-chiang-a,  354  et  seq. 

I-k’o-t’an,  499 

Imperial  cedar-wood,  used  in  Palace,  352, 
362 

Imperial  Clan,  236,  311,  443 
Imperial  Clan  Court,  289 
“  Imperial  Clansman,  An,”  Annalist,  462 
Imperial  mandates  to  King  of  England, 
322,  325,  382 
Imperial  mausoleum,  104 
Imperial  pearl,  242,  n.  353 
Italy,  mission  to  Chinese  Court,  324 

Jade  sceptees,  381 
Japanese  samurai  tradition,  109 
Jehol,  Court  at,  311 
reception  of  British  Embassy  at,  321 
Jen,  Concubine,  67,  84,  85 
Jesuit  priests,  221 
and  Manchu  Princes,  273 
dissensions  between  Jesuits  and  Do¬ 
minicans,  240 
Edict  of  toleration,  240 
expulsion  of,  273,  307 
introduce  European  guns,  95,  141, 145, 
173 

introduce  quinine  at  Court,  240 
their  zeal  leads  to  persecution,  241 
under  K’ang  Hsi,  239-41 
under  Yung  Cheng,  307 


Job,  quoted,  12 

“  Journey  Eastward,  A,”  play  cited,  137 

Jui  Ch’eng,  n.  399 

Jui,  Prince,  vide  Dorgun. 

Ju-ji  sceptres,  356 

Jung  Lu,  420,  448,  450,  459  et  seq.,  467, 
471,  481,  493 

K’ai  Feng-fu,  siege  of,  90 
recovered  for  Mings,  170 
K’ang  Hsi,  Emperor,  132,  133,  234 
abolishes  semi-independent  vassaldoms, 
134,  158 

addicted  to  drinking  bouts,  n.  292 

and  Jesuit  Fathers,  237,  247 

death  of,  269,  270  ' 

deposition  of  Heir  Apparent,  249-62 

dismisses  Regents,  242 

his  wars,  241 

homily  to  Ministers,  252-55 
obsequies  of,  277,  280 
persecutes  Christians,  241 
reign  of,  238,  239 

rumoured  conversion  to  Christianity, 
241 

sons  of,  245-68 
succeeds  Shun  Cliih,  235 
Kang  Yi,  Boxer  politician,  443, 447  el  seq., 
451,  452,  459,  462 
K’ang  Yu-wei,  230,  436 
Kao,  Empress,  114 
Kao  Ti,  General,  143 
Keyte,  J.  C.,  work  cited,  209 
Khorchin  Mongols,  146,  158,  n.  256,  276 
Kiakhta,  Russian  trade  at,  328 
Kings  of  Korea,  become  vassals  of 
Manchu  Emperor,  147 
Kitchen  God,  335 

Ivoffier,  Andrew  Xavier,  Jesuit,  attached 
to  Ming  Corut,  222 
K’o,  Madame,  56  et  seq. 

K’o,  Prince,  446 

Korea,  Prince  Amin’s  expedition  to,  144 
invasion  of,  146 

refuses  to  recognise  T’ai  Tsung,  146 
subjugated,  147 

T’ai  Tsung’s  campaign  against,  143 
Kowtow,  ceremony  of,  321,  331,  382,  383, 
386 

Kuai  Tzu,  philosopher,  113 
Kuang  Hsii,  Emperor,  alleged  origin  of, 
491 

character  of,  429 

confined  to  Ocean  Terrace,  440 

death  of,  439,  469 

defies  Tzu  Hsi,  432 

his  mean  apartment,  439 


52G 


INDEX 


Kuang  Hsu,  la,st  request  to  Old  Buddha, 
439 

Kuang  Hui,  386-89 
Kuang  Tsung,  Emperor,  52-4 
Kublai  Khan,  23 
Kuei  Chun,  511 

Kuei  Wang,  last  of  the  Mings,  167,  213; 
(Reign  title  Yung  Li), 
death  of,  220,  221,  223 
flight  into  Burma,  213,  214 
letter  to  Wu  San-kuei,  215-19 
Kung,  Prince,  419,  434,  435,  472 
Kung  Yi,  220,  221 
Kung  Yung-ku,  100 

Le  Comte,  Louis,  240 
Lhasa,  320,  321 
Liang  Kuei,  511 
Liao  Shou-keng,  459,  460 
Liao  Yang,  fall  of,  142 
Li  Chang-shu,  452 
Li  Chia-chu,  506 

Li  Chien-t’ai,  Grand  Secretary,  92,  93,  97 
Lien  Shan,  455 
Lien  Yuan,  458,  462,  463 
Li  Hsiu-ch’eng,  Taiping  leader,  423  et  seq. 
his  letter  to  Hung,  424 
his  record  of  Taiping  rebellion,  424 
his  son,  n.  424 

Li  Hung-chang,  450,  452,  453 
Li  Hung-tsao,  434,  435,  476,  478  et  seq. 

Li  K’o-shao,  54 
Li  Kuo-chen,  116 
Li  Kuo-pu,  Grand  Secretary,  78 
Li,  Lady,  52  et  seq.,  68 
Li  Lien-ying,  Chief  Eunuch,  429, 433,  437, 
439,  463,  473,  483,  490,  496,  507 
and  Government  appointments,  430 
death  of,  502 

his  pearls  stolen  by  Chang  Yiian-fu,  502 
Lin  Ch’ing’s  conspiracy,  378 
Lin  Chi-shih,  25  et  seq. 

Ling  Yi-ch’iin,  suicide  of,  110 
Lin  Hsii,  reformer,  436,  437 
Lin  Tse-hsii,  Viceroy  of  Canton,  395,  397 
his  despatch  to  Queen  Victoria,  396 
Li,  Prince,  462 
Li  Shan,  455,  457,  458 
Li  Tai-po,  poems  of,  16 
Literary  examinations,  40  et  seq. 

tradition,  15 
Literati,  236,  301 
Li  Ting-kuo,  freebooter,  214 
Li  Tzu-cheng, 

alliance  with  Wu  San-kuei,  114,  123 
ascends  Imperial  Throne,  107 
assumes  Imperial  title,  114 


Li  Tzu-cheng  ( continued ) 

defeated  by  Dorgun,  131,  132 

defeated  by  Wu  San-kuei,  119,  123 

ends  days  as  Buddhist  priest,  116,  117 

enters  the  city,  104,  106 

flight  to  Hunan,  116 

his  political  genius,  107 

his  tomb,  117 

punishes  Palace  eunuchs,  115 
rebellion  of,  24,  82  et  seq.,  86  et  seq. 

104  et  seq.,  148 
takes  Peking,  99 
Liu  Cheng,  eunuch,  28,  49 
Liu  K’un-yi,  Nanking  Viceroy,  433,  492 
“  Liu,  Mysterious,”  eunuch,  484 
Liu  Tsung-min,  121 
Liu  Wen-pin,  486  et  seq. 

Liu  Wen-ping,  Marquis,  death  of,  111 
Liu  Yi-ching,  Grand  Secretary,  54 
Li  Yen,  rebel  chief,  83,  84 
Lou  Te-na,  258 

Lung  K’o-to,  269,  271,  282.  285,  291,  292, 
305 

Lung  Yu,  Empress,  225,  242,  353,  n.  421, 
493  et  seq.,  497  et  seq. 
and  Eunuch  Chang  Yiian-fu,  496,  501 
et  seq. 

death  of,  495 

“squeezes”  in  building  operations,  499 
theatrical  entertainments,  504 
Lu  Pin,  Prince,  290 
Lu  Po-yang,  430,  431,  433 

Macao,  banquet  at,  in  honour  of  Ming 
Envoys,  222 

Macao,  Portuguese  at,  221 
Macartney  Mission,  311,  320  et  seq.,  344, 
382 

Ma  Chang-hsi,  478 
Magic  and  spells,  451 
Mahomedan  mosque,  340 
Mailla,  Pere,  author  of  Hisloire  Generate 
de  la  Chine,  n.  239,  n.  305 
Manchu  invasion,  84 

capture  of  Wuchang,  116 
dynasty’s  Eastern  tombs,  156 
etiquette,  355 
expedition  to  Korea,  144 
house  laws,  41,  230,  232,  248,  312,  349, 
435,  475,  476,  505 
march  on  Peking,  113 
Prefect  at  Tamsui,  378 
Princes,  335,  443 ;  degeneration  of,  444 
et  seq. 

Princes  and  Wu  San-kuei,  132 
raid  in  Chihli,  144 
rulers  and  eunuchs,  17 


527 


INDEX 


Manchus  massacred  by  Chinese,  209 
Market  days  in  Forbidden  City,  50 
Market  fair,  335 
Ma  Shih-ying,  168,  170,  172 
Massacre  of  Chinese  by  Manchus,  195 
of  Manchus  by  Chinese,  209 
Mencius  quoted,  302,  319 
Metropolitan  Museum,  New  York,  n.  367 
Mien  Ning,  Prince,  son  of  Cilia  Ch’ing, 
became  Emperor  Tao  Kuang,  375 
Military  organisation,  18,  390 
Ming  Heir  Apparent,  97,  100,  101,  107, 
121,  122, 124, 166 
mission  to  Vatican,  222 
nobles  squeezed,  116 
Mings  at  Nanking,  84,  167,  168 
last  of  the,  104,  106,  137,  235 
Missions  to  Chinese  Court  from  Portugal 
and  Italy,  324 

“  Model  Beauty,  The,”  341  et  seq. 

Mongol  Empire,  finally  shattered,  23 
Princes’  tribute,  250 
smallpox  amongst,  352 
Mongol  Tushetu  Khan,  157 
Mongolian  Superintendency,  277 
Mongolia  subjugated  by  T’ai  Tsung,  143 
Moukden,  142 

Mu  Ch’ang-a,  Grand  Secretary,  391,  395 
et  seq.,  401 

Mu  Ching-yuan,  European,  at  Court  of 
Yung  Cheng,  299 
Mu  Yung-a,  242 

Nanking,  sack  of  (1913),  12 
fall  of,  406,  425,  428 
Napier,  Lord,  385 
Nepal  campaign,  320,  321,  332,  333 
Ning,  Prince,  32,  33 

Ning  Yiian,  last  of  the  Ming  strongholds, 
112 

defence  of,  by  Wu  San-kuei,  118,  143, 
148,  154 

Nurhachi,  217,  225 

appointed  Warden  of  the  Marches,  138 
assumes  dynastic  name  of  Manchu,  140 
declares  war  on  China,  140 
his  army,  139,  143 
his  capital  at  Hsing  Ching,  140 
his  capital  at  Moukden,  142 
organises  tribes  under  four  banners,  139 
rise  of,  86,  138 

ruler  of  five  Manchu  tribes,  139 

“  Ocean  Terrace,”  437,  440 
Odes,  Book  of,  quoted,  474,  477 
Omens  and  portents,  43,  87,  88,  224,  243, 
244,  318,  400 


Opium  abolition,  395,  503 
Orientals,  jealousy  of,  242 

Pa  Chung,  General,  n.  333 
Palace  actors,  487,  502,  504 
Amazons,  475 
concubines,  60,  406 
pearls,  501 

of  Prince  Hsiao,  n.  365 
of  Tranquil  Longevity,  362 
P’an  Achilles,  Chief  Eunuch  of  Empress 
Helen,  222 

in  command  of  land  and  sea  forces  of 
Mings,  223 

Pang  Pao,  eunuch,  48,  49 
Panshen  Lama,  n.  233 
P’an  Tsu-yin,  469 
Pao  Tai,  Resident  at  Lhasa,  n.  333 
Parker,  E.  H.,  work  cited,  223 
Peace  Protocol  (1901),  449 
Pearl  Concubine,  440,  468,  495 
Pearl  necklaces,  353,  363,  369,  370 
Peking  Court  Gazette,  293 
Peking  Gendarmerie,  338,  509 
Peking  horse  show,  507 
Pereira,  Anthoine,  239 
Pescadores,  seizure  of,  by  Dutch,  86 
Ping  Ling,  411  et  seq. 

Pi  Ting-ho,  444 
Pi  Yiin-ssii,  75 

Poison,  use  of,  81, 134, 166,  246,  464,  483, 
484,  487,  489 

Polygamy,  13  et  seq.,  245,  270 
Portuguese  in  China, 
aid  Mings,  141 
at  Macao,  221 

language  used  by  Princes,  307 
Mission  to  Chinese  Court,  324 
supply  Mings  with  cannon,  145 
Po  Sui,  Grand  Secretary,  409  et  seq. 

execution  of,  414-17 
Pottinger,  Sir  H.,  395 
Precious  Pearl,  Empress,  59  et  seq. 
death  of,  82-5 

President  Yuan  Shih-k’ai’s  Palace,  n.  341 
Price  of  eggs,  337,  490 
Priesthood,  Shun  Sliih’s  regulations  for 
entering,  229 

not  reverenced  by  literati,  236 
Princedom  of  Jui  re-established,  234 
Prophecies,  224,  225 
P’u  Shan,  Duke,  508  et  seq. 

Pu  Ying-ch’i,  427,  428 

Random  Notes  from  the  Chamber  of  the 
Cloudy  Sea,  469 

Ransom  for  Proscribed  Mings,  109 

528 


INDEX 


Rebellions  against  Manchus,  347,  373 
Reformers,  436 
Regents,  Board  of,  242 
harsh  treatment  of  Jesuits,  242 
Regents,  Prince  Abtai,  242-45 
Ao  Pai,  219,  242,  243,  257 
Prince  Ch’un,  n.  302,  n.  303,  n.  433, 
493  et  seq. 

Regents,  usurping,  418,  470 
dismissed  by  K’ang  Hsi,  242 
Regency,  Joint,  of  Prince  Cheng  and 
Dorgun,  158 

of  Tzu  Hsi  and  Tzu  An,  419,  495 
Republic,  the,  442 

“  Restore  the  Mings,”  battle  cry  of  Tai- 
pings,  221 
Ricci,  221 

Ritual  of  mourning,  271 

Roman  Catholic  religion,  221,  272  et  seq. 

“Round-faced  Beauty,”  120,  122,  125; 

also  vide  Lady  Ch’en. 

Russian  merchants  at  Peking,  327,  328 
Russian  trade  at  Kiakhta,  328 

Sages,  teachings  of  the,  141 
San  Ku-niang,  literary  courtesan,  338,  339 
Schall,  Adam  von,  242 
Secret  Societies,  373,  378 
Shanghai  Taotaiship,  430 
Shan  Hai-kuan,  95 
siege  of,  113 
Shen,  Eunuch,  508 

Shih,  alleged  paramour  of  Tzu  Hsi,  490, 

491 

Shih  K’o-fa,  General,  168,  188,  189,  207 
his  memorial,  169,  170 
correspondence  with  Manchu  Regent, 
174-84 
death  of,  174 
Shou  Fu,  464  et  seq. 

Shun  Chih,  Emperor,  138,  157,  158,  160, 
229 

alleged  to  have  joined  priesthood,  236, 
237 

birth,  231 

character  of,  229,  232 
curtails  power  of  eunuchs,  232 
death  of,  235 
marriage,  234 
reputed  illegitimacy,  230 
Shun  (Obedient),  title  of  Li  Tzu-ch’eng’s 
rebel  dynasty,  121 
Sianfu,  sack  of  Tartar  city,  209 
“  Signs  of  a  Decaying  Dynasty,”  443  et 
seq. 

Singing-girl  and  Wu  San-kuei,  119;  also 
vide  “  Round-faced  Beauty.” 


Sister  Phoenix,  37  et  seq. 

Smith,  Dr.  Arthur,  work  quoted,  225 
Song  of  the  Cakes,  quoted,  224,  226 
Soochow,  fall  of,  424 
Soothsayers  and  fortune-tellers,  40,  226 
Spirits  and  omens,  43,  44 
Spring  and  Autumn  Annals,  quoted,  174, 
178,  265 

State  seal  of  Mongol  dynasty,  146 
Staunton,  Sir  George,  cited,  311,  319, 
n.  320,  321,  n.  386 
“  Stranger  Concubine,”  341  et  seq. 

Su,  Prince,  Minister  of  the  Interior,  509, 
510 

Su,  Prince,  son  of  Emperor  T’ai  Tsung, 
145,  157 

Suicide  of  two  hundred  women  of  the 
Palace,  103 

Sungaria,  campaign  in,  340 

Sung  Ch’i-chiao,  108 

Sung  Fan,  Viceroy  of  Kansuh,  450,  451 

Sung,  Prince,  218 

Sung  Yiin,  Resident  at  Lhasa,  321 

Sun  Yat-sen,  221,  225 

Superstitions,  characteristic,  243 

Su  Shun,  Imperial  clansman,  406  et  seq. 

death  of,  417,  418,  470  et  seq. 
Symptoms  of  demoralisation,  372 

T’ai  hu,  Magistracy,  36 
Taiping  Court  at  Nanking,  406,  410,  423 
rebellion,  391,  405  et  seq.,  422  et  seq., 
475 

genesis  of,  423 
T’ai  Tsu,  217 
T’ai  Tsung,  Emperor,  143 
ambitions  of,  143,  144 
correspondence  with  Ming  Emperor, 
148,  149,  151,  153 
death  of,  157 
invades  Korea,  146 
raids  China,  147 

receives  State  seal  of  Mongol  dynasty, 
146 

subjugates  Charhar  Mongols,  145 
takes  Port  Arthur,  145 
T’ai  Yiian-fu,  siege  of,  93 
T’an,  “  Heaven-compelling  ”  singer,  504 
Tantla  Pass,  n.  333 
Tao  Kuang,  Emperor,  375,  390  et  seq. 
and  Tseng  Kuo -fan,  400  et  seq. 
character  of,  391,  394 
signs  Nanking  Treaty,  399 
Taranatha  Lama,  280 
Tashilhunpo,  sack  of,  n.  333 
Temple  of  Ancestors,  57,  93,  359 
Temple  of  Heaven,  93,  115,  342 


529 


INDEX 


Teng,  “  the  large-thighed,”  231 
Te,  Prince,  cousin  of  Ming  Emperor,  147 
Theatricals,  palace,  136, 172, 335, 501,  503 
Tibet,  320 

British  mission  to,  332 
China’s  suzerainty  over,  320 
war  with  Nepal,  321,  n.  333 
T’ien  Ch’i,  Emperor  Hsi  Tsung,  55  et  seq. 
T’ien,  Concubine,  104  et  seq.,  122 
T’ien  Ming,  reign  title  of  Nurhachi 
T’ien  Tsung,  reign  title  of  Huang  Taiki, 
143 

T’ien  Wen-cliing,  305,  306 
Ting,  Prince,  122 

Ting,  Prince,  grandson  of  Ch’ien  Lung, 
364,  369,  370 

Trading  centre  at  Peking,  322 
Treaty  of  alliance  between  Li  Tzu-ch’eng 
and  Wu  San-kuei,  114,  119,  122 
Treaty  of  Nanking,  395,  399 
Tsai  Chen,  son  of  Prince  Ch’ing,  446 
Tsai  Ch’u,  479 
Tsai  Lan,  Duke,  458  et  seq. 

Tsai  Lien,  Beileli,  446,  447 
Tsai  Yuan,  n.  271,  481 
Ts’ao  Chen-yung,  Grand  Secretary,  393, 
403,  404 

Tseng  Kuo-fan,  400  et  seq.,  419,  422, 426, 
492 

Tsin,  eunuch,  440 

Tso  Kuang-tou,  Censor,  51,  52,  58,  76 
Tso  Tsung  fang,  419,  422,  477,  484,  489 
Tsui  Wen-hsiang,  eunuch,  52,  53 
Tuan,  Prince  (Boxer),  455 
Tu  Hsiin,  eunuch,  Commander-in-Chief, 
94  96  9,8  99  115 

Tu  Shou-f’ien,’ Imperial  tutor,  391,  392 
Tung  Chia,  Empress  of  Shun  Chih,  234 
T’ung  Chih,  Emperor,  419,  469,  477 
character  of,  419 
death  of,  478-80 
escapades  of,  420,  478 
marriage,  420 

Tung,  Lady,  Concubine,  234,  235 
Tzu  An,  Empress,  469,  473,  476  et  seq., 
481  et  seq. 

death  of,  483-84,  486  et  seq. 

Tzu  Hsi,  Empress  Dowager,  337,  n.  367, 
394,  400,  419,  422,  461,  466  et  seq. 
and  astrologers,  226 
and  Censor  Wang  P’eng-yun,  436 
and  Tzu  An,  481  et  seq. 
character  of,  336,  466  et  seq. 
coup  d'etat,  430,  364 
en  retraite,  434 

executes  Su  Shun,  417;  and  usurping 
Regents,  418 


Tzu  Hsi,  Empress  Dowager,  ( continued ) 
her  pearl -embroidered  jacket,  364 
her  relations  with  Kuang  Hsu,  429  et 

seq. 

homilies  of,  272 
sympathy  with  Boxers,  455 
the  verdict  of  history,  492 
usurps  power,  433,  476 

Verbiest,  221,  239 
Visdelou,  Claude  de,  240 

Wan  Ching,  Board  Secretary,  74 
Wang  An,  eunuch,  56,  58,  70 
Wang  Ch’eng-en,  eunuch,  98,  100,  103 
Wang  Ch’eng-yiin,  General,  98 
Wang  Kao.  alleged  father  of  Shun  Chih, 
230-32 

Wang  P’eng-yun,  Censor,  434  et  seq. 
Wang  Ting-lin,  Grand  Secretary,  397 
Wang  Wen-shao,  450,  457,  460 
Wang  Yung-chang,  Diary  of,  119,  122, 
124 

Wan  Li,  Ming  Emperor,  47  et  seq.,  313 
Heir  Apparent  of,  47-52,  377 
Wei  Ching-yuan,  Governor  of  Ta  T’ung- 
fu,  96,  97 

Wei  Chung-hsien,  the  infamous  eunuch, 
47,  55  et  seq.,  142,  168,  232,  360 
Wei  Liang-ch’ing,  79 
Wei  Ta-ching,  74,  76 
“  Wen  Ching,”  writings  of,  230,  466 
Wen  Hsiang,  419,  480 
Western  Market,  place  of  execution,  415 
White  Lily  Conspiracy,  346,  347,  373 
“  Writer  on  Court  Subjects,  A,”  486 
Wu  Ch’ang,  captured  by  Manchus,  116 
Wu  Chao-ping,  324 
Wu  Hsiang,  General,  113,  119 
Wu  Ko-tu,  Censor,  491 
Wu  Len-cheng,  suicide  of,  110 
Wu  San-kuei,  98,  110,  118  et  seq. 
allies  himself  with  Manchus,  126  et  seq. 
allies  himself  with  Li  Tzu-ch’eng,  119, 
123,  125 

and  last  of  the  Mings,  124,  214 
and  the  “Round-faced  Beauty,”  113 
119  et  seq. 

character  of,  134  et  seq. 
death  of,  132 

defeats  Li  Tzu-ch’eng,  123 
defence  of  Ning  Yuan,  112,  118 
his  career,  119  et  seq.,  132 
his  father,  125 

his  rebellion  in  1674,  128,  133-35 
Wu  Su,  111,  112 
Wu  Tai  Mountain,  85 

530 


INDEX 


Yang,  Chou-fu,  sack  of,  168, 172, 185, 188 
et  seq. 

Yang,  Colonel,  188 
Yang  Hsiao-lou,  504 
Yang  Hsin-ch’eng,  rebel  Prince,  427 
Yang  Jui,  reformer,  467 
Yang  Lien,  Censor,  51,  52,  55,  56,  68 
et  seq.,  75 

Yang  Ssu-ch’ang,  Ming  Commander-in- 
Chief  in  Hupei,  n.  89 
Yang  Yueh-lou,  actor,  487 
Yao,  Emperor,  312 
Yeho  tribe,  139,  474 
Yehonala  clan,  n.  139,  493  et  seq. 

“  Yellow  Lotus  Holy  Mother,”  452,  453 
Yen  Ching-ming,  Grand  Secretary,  483 
Yi,  General,  170,  172 
Yi  Hsing,  reign  title  of  Ming  Heir  Ap¬ 
parent  (1644),  122,  124 
Yi,  Prince,  brother  of  Chia  Ch’ing,  396, 
413,  418 

Yi,  Princedom  created,  n.  271 
Yi  Yuan-lu,  Board  President,  109 
Young  China,  historical  writings  of,  230, 
492 

Yu,  Prince,  brother  of  Dorgun,  170,  172, 
205 

Yuan  Ch’ang,  455,  457 
Yuan,  General,  142 
Yuan  Shih-k’ai,  225,  340,  450 
his  dismissal  by  Empress  Lung  Yii,  242, 
n.  479 

his  respect  for  Confucian  tradition,  15 
Yu  Hsien,  450,  451 
Yii  Lu,  452 
Yii  Ming,  431-33 


Yiin  Ch’ih,  eldest  son  of  K’ang  Hsi,  245, 
255  262  263 

Yiin  Chih,  son  of  K’ang  Hsi,  246,  301 
Yung  Ch’ang,  Imperial  title  of  Li  Tzu- 
ch’eng,  91,  123 

Yung  Cheng,  Emperor,  246,  269-309 
alleged  illegitimacy  of,  290,  n.  297 
alleged  murder  of,  309 
and  disloyal  brothers,  289-301 
character  of,  270,  284,  297,  304 
end  of  reign,  disturbed,  301 
executes  Yiin  T’ang  and  Yiin  Ssu,  298- 
300 

his  literary  style,  303 
letter  to  Pope,  307 
limits  authority  of  eunuchs,  306 
persecutes  Christians,  304 
relations  with  Jesuits,  307 
reported  drunkenness  of,  291,  n.  292 
rescripts,  303 

Yung  Li,  reign  title  of  Kuei  Wang  (last  of 
the  Mings),  213,  219 
Yung  Lo,  Emperor,  23,  217 
Yiin  Jeng,  Heir  Apparent  of  K’ang  Hsi, 
246  et  seq. 
death  of,  276 
deposition  of,  249-62 
imprisonment  of,  257 
Yiin  O,  son  of  K’ang  Hsi,  246,  273,  275, 
280,  300,  301 

Yiin  Ssii,  son  of  K’ang  Hsi,  246,  262, 
264-67,  269,  271,  273-301 
Yiin  T’ang,  son  of  K’ang  Hsi,  246,  278, 
289,  290,  298,  299 

Yiin  Ti,  son  of  K’ang  Hsi,  247,  280,  289- 
91,  297,  300 


531 


Richard  Clay  &  Sons,  Limited, 

BRUNSWICK  STREET,  STAMFORD  STREET,  S.E. 
AND  BUNGAY,  SUFFOLK. 


GETTY  CENTER  LIBRARY 

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